Anomalies of coronary origin detected by cardiac CT

László Barna1, Zsuzsanna Takács-Szabó1, László Kostyál1

  • 11 Képalkotó Diagnosztikai Osztály, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Megyei Központi Kórház és Egyetemi Oktató Kórház, Miskolc, Csabai kapu 9-11., 3529.

Orvosi Hetilap
|November 23, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Congenital coronary artery anomalies occur in 1.83% of patients, with potentially symptomatic cases like right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva being rare (0.057%). Computed tomography angiography precisely identifies these coronary origin anomalies.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Radiology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Congenital coronary artery anomalies (CAA) are rare, occurring in less than 1% of cases.
  • While often asymptomatic, CAA can lead to serious symptoms including chest pain, syncope, and sudden cardiac death.
  • Previous prevalence data in Hungary relied on invasive coronary angiography.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of coronary origin anomalies in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) angiography.
  • To assess the frequency of various types of coronary artery anomalies in a Hungarian patient cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective and prospective analysis of coronary CT angiography scans from 1751 patients.
  • Utilized a 128-detector CT scanner with ECG gating for image acquisition.
  • Recorded the presence and type of coronary anomalies during image interpretation.

Main Results:

  • A total of 1.83% of patients exhibited coronary origin anomalies.
  • The most common anomaly was the separate origin of the left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries from the left sinus of Valsalva (1%).
  • Potentially symptomatic anomalies, such as the right coronary artery originating from the left sinus of Valsalva, were found in 0.057% of cases.

Conclusions:

  • CT angiography is effective in precisely identifying coronary artery origins and their anatomical course.
  • The overall prevalence of coronary origin anomalies in this cohort was 1.83%.
  • Potentially symptomatic coronary anomalies are rare, highlighting the diagnostic value of CT angiography in evaluating chest pain and related symptoms.

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