A rare adult case of left main coronary artery atresia
Yohei Numasawa1, Hiroyuki Motoda, Hiroyuki Yamazaki
1Department of Cardiology, Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital, 284-1 Yobe-cho, Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan. numasawa@cpnet.med.keio.ac.jp
Insights
Congenital left main coronary artery atresia is a rare condition. Advanced imaging like 320-slice multidetector computed tomography is crucial for diagnosing this anomaly in adults.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Radiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Congenital coronary artery anomalies are increasingly detected with advanced imaging.
- Left main coronary artery atresia is an exceptionally rare anomaly, particularly in adults.
Observation:
- A 65-year-old woman presented with congestive heart failure.
- Diagnosis of congenital left main coronary artery atresia was confirmed via coronary angiography and 320-slice multidetector computed tomography.
Findings:
- The patient received conservative medical management for heart failure.
- Surgical revascularization was deferred due to the absence of significant myocardial ischemia on stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.
Implications:
- This case highlights the diagnostic utility of 320-slice multidetector computed tomography in rare coronary anomalies.
- Accurate diagnosis is essential for appropriate management of congenital coronary artery atresia.
Abstract:
We report a 65-year-old woman with congenital left main coronary artery atresia detected by coronary angiography and 320-slice multidetector computed tomography. The patient was hospitalized with congestive heart failure and treated by medical therapy conservatively. Surgical revascularization of the left coronary artery was not performed since stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy revealed no clear evidence of myocardial ischemia. Recently, there are many patients with congenital coronary artery anomalies detected by multidetector computed tomography. However, the adult case of left main coronary artery atresia is extremely rare. In this case, 320-slice multidetector computed tomography played a pivotal role in the diagnosis of the extremely rare coronary artery anomaly.
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