Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the anomalous circumflex artery

Congenital coronary artery anomalies silent until geriatric age: non-invasive assessment, angiography tips, and treatment

Coronary artery anomalies (CAAs) may be discovered more often as incidental findings during the normal diagnostic process for other cardiac diseases or less frequently on the basis of manifestations of myocardial ischemia. The cardiovascular professional may be involved in their angiographic diagnosis, functional assessment and eventual endovascular treatment. A complete angiographic definition is mandatory in order to understand the functional effects and plan any intervention in CAAs: computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are useful non-invasive tools to detect three-dimensional morphology of the anomalies and its relationships with contiguous cardiac structures, whereas coronary arteriography remains the gold standard for a definitive anatomic picture. A practical idea of the possible functional significance is mandatory for deciding how to manage CAAs: non-invasive stress tests and in particular the invasive pharmacological stress tests with or without intravascular ultrasound monitoring can assess correctly the functional significance of the most CAAs. Finally, the knowledge of the particular endovascular techniques and material is of paramount importance for achieving technical and clinical success. CAAs represent a complex issue, which rarely involve the cardiovascular professional at different levels. A timely practical knowledge of the main issues regarding CAAs is important in the management of such entities.

Percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with anomalous origin of coronary artery presenting with acute coronary syndrome: A case series

Coronary artery anomalies are found in 0.6%-1.5% of patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiogram. Intervention in these patients poses a particular technical challenge secondary to the aberrancies in the vessel origin and course. From March 2011 to February 2013, 13 cases with complex coronary artery anomalies were observed among 2482 patients undergoing CAG (0.52%) at our cath lab. Only three patients had severe stenosis in the anomalous artery sufficient to require an intervention and had presented with myocardial infarction. PCI was performed successfully in these 3 patients two of which had anomalous left circumflex artery and the other having an anomalous right coronary artery.

Percutaneous intervention on anomalous circumflex coronary arteries--a single centre experience

BACKGROUND

Anomalies of the origin and course of the circumflex artery are amongst the most common seen at coronary angiography. There is limited information regarding patient and procedural characteristics, technical feasibility and outcomes associated with percutaneous intervention (PCI) to these vessels. The aim of this study is to examine our experience with PCI to anomalous circumflex vessels and compare this to some aspects of percutaneous intervention on non-anomalous circumflex vessels.

METHODS

Over a 41 month period, 20 PCI procedures on anomalous circumflex vessels were identified and 1550 PCI procedures on non-anomalous circumflex arteries.

RESULTS

In 9 anomalous cases, the circumflex arose from the left coronary cusp, in 7 cases from the right coronary cusp, and in the remaining 4 cases from the proximal right coronary artery. There were no differences in demographics or pattern or severity of coronary disease between the 2 groups. A higher proportion of patients with anomalous vessels presented acutely. Screening times were longer in the anomalous group. All 20 procedures were associated with immediate procedural success. There was one peri-procedural myocardial infarction unrelated to anomalous circumflex intervention. After a median follow-up period of 7.3 months, the only major adverse cardiac event recorded in the anomalous group was an ischaemia-driven revascularisation to a non-target vessel branch. We describe techniques which can be used to improve support and facilitate successful PCI to anomalous circumflex vessels.

CONCLUSION

PCI to anomalous circumflex vessels may be technically challenging, but is feasible and carries favourable short and long-term clinical outcomes.

SUMMARY

This single centre observational study demonstrates that percutaneous coronary intervention to anomalous circumflex coronary arteries although technically challenging can be performed with satisfactory procedural success rates and favourable short and longer-term clinical outcomes. It describes various techniques that can be employed to optimise successful intervention.

Anomalous origin of the left circumflex artery from the right coronary artery: a case report

Introduction

Coronary artery anomalies are found in 0.6% to 1.55% of patients who undergo coronary angiography, and the increasing use of diagnostic coronary angiography is uncovering even more such abnormalities. We present a very unusual case of an anomalous origin of the left circumflex coronary artery (LCx) from the proximal right coronary artery (RCA).

Case presentation

We present a case of a 45-year-old-man with a recent history of a non ST elevation myocardial infarction. The coronary angiography reveals an ectopic left circumflex coronary artery from the right coronary artery. In this report we attempted to highlight the rarity of this coronary anatomy.

Conclusion

Anomalous origins of the coronary artery are rare, but may cause myocardial ischemia and sudden death. Thus, their reliable identification is a matter of paramount importance possibly evaluating the effects of therapeutic intervention.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with stent deployment in anomalously-arising left circumflex coronary arteries

BACKGROUND

Anomalous origin of the left circumflex coronary artery from the right sinus of Valsalva or proximal right coronary artery is the most common congenital coronary anatomical abnormality. Whether such vessels are particularly predisposed to atherosclerotic disease in their proximal portion remains controversial. Successful balloon angioplasty has been described, but thus far only six isolated cases of stent deployment in anomalous circumflex vessels have been described in the interventional literature.

METHODS

Single-center retrospective case study of twenty-two patients with anomalous circumflex coronary arteries. Twelve patients (11/12 male, average age (63 +/- 3) years) underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent deployment in the retroaortic segment of the anomalous vessel.

RESULTS

Significant obstructive coronary disease in the retroaortic portion was found in the majority of anomalous left circumflex vessels (16/22, 73%), but did not predict the presence of significant two or three vessel coronary disease (P = 0.14, 0.63). PCI was successful in all cases attempted, with favourable short/medium-term event-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The retroaortic portion of anomalously-arising circumflex coronary arteries is selectively predisposed to atherosclerotic disease. PCI to these vessels is feasible but may be technically challenging.

Anomalous origin of circumflex artery from right sinus of Valsalva: a rare cause of non-ST elevation syndrome

We present a case with anomalous origin of the left circumflex artery from the right coronary artery ostium, which caused a non-ST elevation coronary syndrome. A review of the literature indicates this to be an extremely rare case.

Rescue percutaneous coronary intervention for failed thrombolysis in a patient with anomalous coronary arteries

Coronary artery anomalies (CAA) often render technically difficult the completion of coronary angiography and intervention. Their presence in patients undergoing emergency angiography for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is particularly challenging for interventional cardiologists. In this article, we report, for the first time in the literature, a case of rescue percutaneous coronary intervention for failed thrombolysis in a patient with AMI due to occlusion of a left circumflex coronary artery with anomalous origin from right sinus of Valsalva (in an anomalous left coronary system also including an anomalous origin of the left anterior descending artery from the right sinus). In particular, the present clinical vignette emphasizes the importance of a thorough search for the culprit vessel during cardiac catheterization. Especially in the emergency setting, non-invasive methods of ischemia localization, such as ST-segment elevation at the ECG and wall motion abnormalities at echocardiography, are of pivotal usefulness to guide the interventional cardiologist in identifying and treating the diseased coronary vessel in a timely and effective fashion.