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Updated: Nov 29, 2025

Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
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.
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.
Abstract:
Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Congenitalis coronariaanomáliának tekintik azokat a coronariamorfológiai rendellenességeket, melyek 1%-nál kisebb gyakorisággal fordulnak elő. Többségük nem jár tünettel, olykor azonban okozhatnak mellkasi fájdalmat, eszméletvesztést, és hirtelen halálhoz is vezethetnek. A coronariaanomáliák gyakoriságáról Magyarországon eddig csak invazív koronarográfiás adatok alapján jelent meg közlemény. Célkitűzés: Jelen vizsgálatunkban a coronariák eredési rendellenességeinek gyakoriságát mértük fel intézetünk coronaria-komputertomográfiás angiográfián átesett betegeinél. Módszer: A coronaria-komputertomográfiás vizsgálatra került betegek felvételeinek értékelésekor rögzítettük a coronariaanomália jelenlétét. A vizsgálat indikációja általában mellkasi fájdalom volt. 128 szeletes berendezést használtunk, a vizsgálatok során részben retrospektív, részben prospektív EKG-kapuzást alkalmaztunk. Eredmények: 1751 beteg komputertomográfiás angiográfiás felvételeit elemeztük. A betegek között a férfiak aránya 38,4%, a vizsgálatra kerülők életkorának átlaga pedig 58,07 ± 11,07 év volt. Eredési anomáliát 1,83%-ban találtunk, ezen belül a leggyakoribb volt a körbefutó ág (ramus circumflexus) és az elülső leszálló ág különálló eredése a bal Valsalva-sinusból (1%). A további rendellenességek a következők voltak: a jobb coronaria eredése magasan az aortából (0,34%), ramus circumflexus a jobb sinusból vagy a jobb coronariából (0,34%), jobb coronaria a bal Valsalva-sinusból (0,057%), elülső leszálló ág részben a bal Valsalva-sinusból a circumflexustól külön, részben a jobb coronariából (kettős elülső leszálló ág, 0,057%). Következtetés: Mindössze 0,057%-ban fordult elő potenciálisan tünetet okozó coronariaeredési rendellenesség (a bal sinusból eredő jobb coronaria). A komputertomográfiás angiográfia segítségével a coronariaeredés helye pontosan megállapítható, tisztázható az ér lefutása és ennek során viszonya a környező struktúrákhoz. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(47): 1995-1999.
Introduction:
Congenital coronary artery anomaly is defined as a coronary morphology which occurs in less than 1% of the cases. Usually these anomalies do not result in symptoms but sometimes they can cause chest pain, syncope and sudden death. In Hungary, the prevalence of these abnormalities was published only from data of invasive coronary angiography.
Objective:
In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of the anomalies of coronary origin in the patients of our institution undergoing coronary computed tomography.
Method:
While reading the computed tomography angiograms of our patients, we registered the presence of coronary anomalies. In most of the cases, the indication of the coronary computed tomography was chest pain. A scanner with 128 detectors was used, scans were performed partly with prospective, partly with retrospective ECG gating.
Results:
We assessed 1751 patients. The ratio of males was 38.4%, while the average age of patients 58.07 ± 11.07 years. Anomaly of coronary origin was present in 1.83% of our patients, with the separate origin of left anterior descending and left circumflex artery being the most frequent (1%) among them. Other anomalies were as follows: high take-off of the right coronary artery from the ascending aorta (0.34%), left circumflex arising from the right sinus of Valsalva or from the right coronary (0.34%), right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva (0.057%), left anterior descending arising partly from the left sinus of Valsalva, apart from the left circumflex, partly from the right coronary (dual left anterior descending artery, 0.057%).
Conclusion:
The prevalence of potentially symptomatic coronary anomalies was only 0.057% in our series (right coronary from the left sinus of Valsalva). The computed tomography angiography can precisely define the origin of the coronary artery, depict its run-off and its relationship to the neighbouring structures. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(47): 1995-1999.
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