Single Coronary Artery: A Comprehensive Review
1From the Department of Radiology, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences Affiliated Zhoupu Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Single coronary artery (SCA) is a rare congenital heart defect that can cause serious health issues or be asymptomatic. Accurate diagnosis via advanced medical imaging is crucial for risk assessment and treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Congenital Heart Disease
Background:
- Single coronary artery (SCA) is a rare congenital anomaly.
- SCA can lead to myocardial ischemia, angina, and sudden cardiac death, or be asymptomatic.
- Understanding SCA's characteristics is vital for diagnosis and risk stratification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in the understanding and diagnosis of SCA.
- To systematically summarize SCA's clinical and anatomical features, classification, and imaging diagnosis.
- To provide a reference for precise diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for SCA.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on recent advances in SCA.
- Systematic summary of clinical and anatomical characteristics.
- Evaluation of various medical imaging modalities for SCA diagnosis.
Main Results:
- SCA diagnosis relies heavily on medical imaging, including echocardiography, coronary angiography, CT angiography, and MR angiography.
- Imaging identifies SCA subtypes, evaluates coronary anatomy, myocardial perfusion, and associated lesions.
- High-risk patterns and clinical implications of SCA are discussed.
Conclusions:
- Precise imaging is essential for accurate SCA diagnosis and risk assessment.
- Understanding SCA's diverse presentations guides clinical decision-making and treatment.
- This review offers a comprehensive reference for managing SCA.
Abstract:
Single coronary artery (SCA) is a rare congenital coronary anomaly. This condition may lead to myocardial ischemia, angina pectoris, and even sudden cardiac death. Generally speaking, if there are no other heart abnormalities, a SCA can be entirely asymptomatic. However, it may also pose a serious threat to health and survival. A thorough understanding of its anatomical and clinical characteristics is essential for accurate diagnosis and risk assessment. Medical imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis of a SCA. Precise imaging not only enables identification of the anomaly subtype but also allows comprehensive evaluation of coronary anatomy, myocardial perfusion, and concomitant lesions, thereby providing critical guidance for clinical decision-making. From echocardiography and conventional coronary angiography to noninvasive modalities such as computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance angiography, each imaging technique has distinct clinical applications. Based on current literature, this review focuses on recent advances in SCA, systematically summarizing its clinical and anatomical characteristics, major classification systems, imaging diagnosis, clinical implications, and high-risk patterns, with the aim of providing a reference for precise diagnosis and therapeutic strategies.
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