[Clinical features of coronary artery ectasia]

To investigate the clinical significance of coronary artery ectasia in Japanese patients.

Coronary artery ectasia was found in 54 of 3,778 (1.4%) consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography. The clinical characteristics and the coronary angiographic findings of these patients were studied. Follow-up data were obtained for 49 patients, who were separated into two groups: Group A subsequently suffered a follow-up major cardiac event, and Group B did not develop such an event.

Among the coronary artery ectasia patients, 65% had myocardial infarction, 91% had coronary artery disease, and 48% had single-vessel disease. Seventy-six percent had single-vessel involvement with coronary artery ectasia. Eighteen patients (37%) suffered 22 follow-up major events. Seventy-two percent of the first follow-up event cases occurred within 4 years after the first cardiac event. The follow-up event in 78% of cases was acute coronary syndrome. There were no significant differences in age and prevalence of each coronary artery risk factor between Groups A and B. There were no significant differences in the incidence of follow-up event between the patients with single-vessel disease and the patients with multi-vessel disease, nor between the patients with single-vessel involvement with coronary artery ectasia and the patients with multi-vessel involvement with coronary artery ectasia. There was no significant difference in the percentage of patients in whom the culprit vessel of the cardiac event was the same as the ectatic vessel between the first cardiac event and follow-up cardiac events (41% vs 62%).

Coronary artery ectasia is not benign and must be carefully monitored. Coronary atherosclerosis may contribute to the occurrence of subsequent cardiac events.