Left Main Coronary Artery Diverticulum: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Hassan Tahir1, Timothy Kennedy1, M Umer Awan1
1Division of Cardiology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA.
Insights
A rare non-dilated outpouching of a coronary artery, known as a coronary artery diverticulum, was incidentally found in a 72-year-old female. This finding highlights the importance of differentiating diverticula from aneurysms in coronary artery disease diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Vascular Medicine
- Diagnostic Imaging
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death, with atherosclerosis being the most common cause.
- Coronary aneurysms, defined as localized dilatations >1.5 times adjacent segments, are known manifestations of CAD.
- Coronary artery diverticula, a rare non-dilated outpouching, are distinct from aneurysms but may share similar angiographic appearances.
Abstract:
Coronary artery disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and while most commonly is atherosclerotic, it can present with variable manifestations, both congenital and acquired. One such manifestation is coronary aneurysm, which is a localized dilatation of a coronary artery wall segment to greater than 1.5 times the adjacent normal segments. While a dilated outpouching of a coronary artery has been commonly classified as a coronary aneurysm, a non-dilated outpouching is rare and is referred to as a diverticulum, with only one previous case report in the literature. It is conceivable that other cases of coronary artery diverticulum may have been previously reported as an aneurysm, given the overlapping angiographic appearance. We present a case of a 72-year-old female patient with an incidental finding of left main coronary artery diverticulum on diagnostic coronary angiogram done for preoperative liver transplantation evaluation.
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