Anomalous coronary arteries in adults detected by multislice computed tomography: presentation of cases from multicenter registry and review of the literature

Heart Vessels. 2008 Jan;23(1):26-34. doi: 10.1007/s00380-007-1005-x. Epub 2008 Feb 14.

Abstract

Anomalous coronary arteries are a rare condition, but they may cause myocardial ischemia, heart failure, and sudden death. We evaluated the prevalence and multislice computed tomographic (MSCT) findings of anomalous coronary arteries in a large number of patients from the multicenter registry. At four institutes, 29 (0.74%) out of 3910 patients were found to have anomalous coronary arteries by MSCT. They consisted of 15 patients with anomalous origins of the right coronary artery, 1 with right-sided origin of the left circumflex artery, 1 with right-sided origin of the left main coronary artery, 2 with double right coronary arteries, 2 with the absence of the left circumflex artery, 1 with absence of the right coronary artery, 6 with coronary artery fistulas, and 1 with Bland-White-Garland syndrome. Multislice computed tomography findings were consistent with those obtained by conventional coronary angiography in all 14 patients undergoing both diagnostic procedures. Multislice computed tomography permits three-dimensional comprehension of coronary arteries, which is suitable for the diagnosis of anomalous coronary arteries.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Coronary Angiography / methods*
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / diagnostic imaging*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Tomography, Spiral Computed / methods*