Anomalous origin of the three major coronary arteries from a single common ostium
Biana Trost1, Leticia Fernandez-Friera, Javier Sanz
1The Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. biana.trost@mssm.edu
Insights
This study reports a rare coronary artery anomaly where the left anterior descending and right coronary arteries originated from a single ostium, with an absent left circumflex artery. This unique presentation highlights the diversity of congenital coronary variations.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Anatomical Pathology
Background:
- Coronary artery anomalies occur in approximately 1.3% of patients undergoing coronary angiography.
- While often incidental, some anomalies, like interarterial courses, can cause significant symptoms including syncope and sudden death.
Observation:
- A rare case of coronary artery anomaly involving a single ostium for the left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery, without a left main artery.
- The left circumflex artery territory was supplied by a posterolateral/marginal branch originating from the right posterior descending artery and a conal branch.
Findings:
- This represents a unique congenital coronary anomaly, distinct from previously reported cases of single ostium origins.
- The absence of the left circumflex artery and its collateral supply via branches from the right coronary system is a novel finding.
Implications:
- This case expands the known spectrum of coronary artery anomalies and their anatomical variations.
- Understanding such rare anomalies is crucial for accurate diagnosis, risk stratification, and management in clinical cardiology.
Abstract:
The prevalence of coronary anomalies is about 1.3% among patients who undergo coronary angiography. Although the majority of coronary artery anomalies are incidental findings and are not clinically significant, the interarterial course between the great vessels of the aberrant artery may be responsible for syncope, angina, arrhythmias or sudden death. There are only a few case reports in the literature that describe the origin of all coronary arteries from a single ostium. This type of anomaly has been seen in only 0.024-0.044% of the population. This is a first case where not only was there a common ostium of the left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery without a left main, but an absent left circumflex artery with blood supply of its territory by a posterolateral/marginal branch from the right posterior descending artery and conal branch.
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