Left main coronary artery aneurysm

Antithrombotic Therapy of a Young Adult with Giant Left Main Coronary Artery Aneurysm

Giant coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) is a rare disorder, defined as coronary artery dilatation, in which the diameter of the coronary artery exceeds more than 1.5 times of its normal size. The most common cause of CAA is coronary atherosclerosis for adults and Kawasaki disease (KD) for children and adolescents (especially for the giant CAA that occurred in adolescence). CAA complications include thrombus, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), vasospasm, rupture, ischemia, heart failure, and arrhythmia. So, antithrombotic therapy is crucial for patients with giant CAA.Although giant CAA has been reported in some cases before, few of these cases described antithrombotic therapy particularly, let alone informed direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use in these patients. Here, we report a case of a young patient with acute coronary artery disease caused by huge CAA. Rivaroxaban combined with clopidogrel was used for his antithrombotic therapy. Moreover, we reviewed the existing reports to provide an overview of antithrombotic treatment in patients with giant CAA.

Giant coronary artery aneurysms: review and update

Giant coronary artery aneurysms are rare, with a reported prevalence of 0.02% to 0.2%. Causative factors include atherosclerosis, Takayasu arteritis, congenital disorders, Kawasaki disease, and percutaneous coronary intervention. Most giant coronary artery aneurysms are asymptomatic, but some patients present with angina pectoris, sudden death, fistula formation, pericardial tamponade, compression of surrounding structures, or congestive heart failure. Clinical sequelae include thrombus formation, embolization, fistula formation, and rupture. Surgical correction is generally accepted as the preferred treatment for giant coronary artery aneurysms. We present an illustrative case of a giant 70 × 40-mm coronary artery aneurysm in a 56-year-old man who declined surgery and died one month later. In addition, we provide a review of the medical literature on giant coronary artery aneurysms.