Case report: incidental finding of a giant cardiac mass

Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J. 2014 Apr-Jun;10(2):118-20. doi: 10.14797/mdcj-10-2-118.

Abstract

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare anomalous connection between a coronary artery and another coronary artery, major vessel, or cardiac chamber. Prevalence of CAF is reportedly 1% to 2% in patients who undergo coronary angiography.1 One of the most common complications of CAF is formation of a coronary artery aneurysm (CAA). A study conducted by Said and colleagues in 1995 found that CAA formation was present in 26% of patients who had proven CAF by way of angiography.2 Although a precise definition of the term "giant" CAA is still lacking, it generally refers to a dilatation that exceeds the reference vessel diameter by four times.3 We report an interesting case of a 38-year-old patient who was incidentally found to have a presumed large right ventricular aneurysm, which after an open-heart surgery was identified as a CAF with formation of an unruptured giant CAA.

Keywords: coronary artery fistula; giant coronary aneurysm; healthy; incidental finding.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Arterio-Arterial Fistula / complications*
  • Arterio-Arterial Fistula / diagnosis
  • Arterio-Arterial Fistula / surgery
  • Coronary Aneurysm / diagnosis
  • Coronary Aneurysm / etiology*
  • Coronary Aneurysm / surgery
  • Coronary Angiography / methods
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / complications*
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / diagnosis
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / surgery
  • Humans
  • Incidental Findings*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Treatment Outcome

Grants and funding

Funding/Support: The authors have no funding disclosures.