Self-expanding stent for spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a rational choice

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection: contemporary aspects of diagnosis and patient management

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is an increasingly recognised cause of acute coronary syndromes, especially in young and middle-age women. Recognising its particularities and differences with atherosclerotic disease is central for appropriately identifying and approaching these patients. The authors review the current state of knowledge on spontaneous coronary artery dissection and provide practical recommendations for the diagnosis and management of this condition, both in the acute and convalescence phases.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection, challenges of diagnosis and management

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized cause of acute coronary syndrome in young patients. No clear factors exist to predict the natural history of the disease and the prognosis of the condition. Furthermore, current management practice of SCAD is based mainly on retrospective data and case series and clear management guidelines are lacking. In this article, we present a series of cases of patients with SCAD and we will discuss the different clinical presentations, the diagnostic approaches and the options of management of this cohort of patients. Our aim is to outline the challenges of diagnosis and management of this interesting and serious pathology.