Giant left main coronary artery aneurysm in association with severe atherosclerotic coronary disease

Coronary Artery Aneurysms: A Review of the Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) are uncommon and describe a localized dilatation of a coronary artery segment more than 1.5-fold compared with adjacent normal segments. The incidence of CAAs varies from 0.3 to 5.3%. Ever since the dawn of the interventional era, CAAs have been increasingly diagnosed on coronary angiography. Causative factors include atherosclerosis, Takayasu arteritis, congenital disorders, Kawasaki disease (KD), and percutaneous coronary intervention. The natural history of CAAs remains unclear; however, several recent studies have postulated the underlying molecular mechanisms of CAAs, and genome-wide association studies have revealed several genetic predispositions to CAA. Controversies persist regarding the management of CAAs, and emerging findings support the importance of an early diagnosis in patients predisposed to CAAs, such as in children with KD. This review aims to summarize the present knowledge of CAAs and collate the recent advances regarding the epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.

Rupture of massive coronary artery aneurysm resulting in cardiac tamponade

Coronary artery aneurysm is a fairly uncommon clinical entity, which is defined by a characteristic dilatation that exceeds 1.5 times the width of normal adjacent coronary artery segments. In the present report, we describe a case of rupture of a massive coronary artery aneurysm. A man in his 40s was found dead in his bed. The pericardial cavity contained 270mL of blood with 428.2g of coagulation. Two true aneurysms of the right coronary artery were identified. A proximal aneurysm, adjacent to the right auricle, had ruptured on the right. A distal unruptured aneurysm was identified 5.1cm distal to the proximal ruptured aneurysm. Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries and aorta was severe. The heart weighed 799.1g and showed concentric ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial thinning, and patchy fibrosis. Histological analysis showed that both aneurysms were purely atherosclerotic true aneurysms without considerable inflammation. The cause of death was determined as cardiac tamponade due to rupture of a giant coronary atherosclerotic aneurysm.

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.

Case report: incidental finding of a giant cardiac mass

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare anomalous connection between a coronary artery and another coronary artery, major vessel, or cardiac chamber. Prevalence of CAF is reportedly 1% to 2% in patients who undergo coronary angiography.1 One of the most common complications of CAF is formation of a coronary artery aneurysm (CAA). A study conducted by Said and colleagues in 1995 found that CAA formation was present in 26% of patients who had proven CAF by way of angiography.2 Although a precise definition of the term "giant" CAA is still lacking, it generally refers to a dilatation that exceeds the reference vessel diameter by four times.3 We report an interesting case of a 38-year-old patient who was incidentally found to have a presumed large right ventricular aneurysm, which after an open-heart surgery was identified as a CAF with formation of an unruptured giant CAA.

Coronary anomalies: left main coronary artery aneurysm

Coronary artery aneurysm is one of the rarest anomalies that we see in our medical practice and they are mostly associated with obstructive lesions due to atherosclerotic changes. Management of these aneurysm patients (conservative or surgical repair) usually depends on obstructive lesions and associated symptoms. We are presenting a case of left main aneurysm measuring around 14 × 28 mm with other obstructive leisons. It was treated with surgical repair in view of obstructive lesions and symptoms.

Successful surgical treatment of a giant coronary artery aneurysm presenting with recurrent profuse haemoptysis

We present the case of successful resection of a giant aneurysm of the LAD presenting with recurrent severe haemoptysis in a 72-year old man. He was admitted to a regional hospital with fever, recurrent bloody sputum, weight loss and left sided chest pain, and developed respiratory failure requiring ventilation. Investigations are summarised and reviewed and the diagnosis was eventually reached by TTE, CT and MRI scans, confirmed by coronary angiography. Successful emergency surgery to resect the aneurysm and put a vein graft to the LAD is described. The presentation and management of coronary giant aneurysm is reviewed.

Giant coronary artery aneurysm in the left main coronary artery: a novel surgical procedure

Giant coronary artery aneurysm is quite rare and the corresponding surgical strategy is difficult to standardize. We present the case of a patient with giant coronary aneurysm involving the left main coronary artery who underwent an aneurysmectomy and coronary artery reconstruction with direct suture of the coronary vessels. Because of compression of the main pulmonary artery, the left main coronary artery was reconstructed using interposition of a short artificial graft.

A giant coronary artery aneurysm in the right coronary artery

Aneurysms of the coronary arteries are uncommon occurrences that usually develop secondary to atherosclerosis and are often asymptomatic. They are usually diagnosed incidentally during investigation for ischemic heart disease or at autopsy for sudden death. We present a case of a "giant" right coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) discovered incidentally at surgery. Pathological examination confirmed that this was a true aneurysm showing marked thinning of the media and fibrocalcific plaques with small, multifocal areas of lymphocytic infiltrates.

Coil embolization of a circumflex coronary aneurysm at the time of percutaneous coronary stenting

Coronary atherosclerotic aneurysm often occurs in association with severe atherosclerotic coronary stenosis. We describe the percutaneous catheter-based approach to coil embolization of a circumflex coronary aneurysm at the time of obtuse marginal branch coronary stent deployment.

Surgical treatment of giant coronary artery aneurysm

OBJECTIVE

Giant coronary artery aneurysm is an extremely uncommon disease. Most previous reports have involved only single cases. This report describes 6 patients with giant coronary artery aneurysm, examines its causes, and aims to establish the optimal surgical strategies for this exceptional and rare pathology.

METHODS

From July 1996 to October 2004, a total of 30,268 patients underwent heart surgery at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing. Among these, 6 patients had giant coronary artery aneurysm diagnosed and underwent operation. Various surgical strategies were used for the operations of these 6 patients, such as coronary artery aneurysm resection, coronary artery reconstruction, and concomitant coronary bypass. Additional procedures, such as fistula closure, aortic valve replacement, aortoplasty, and embolectomy, were done at same time for the patients with complications of coronary fistula, aortic valve insufficiency, or thrombus. Patients were followed up from 8 to 87 months, with a mean of 48 months. Doppler echocardiography, ultrafast computed tomography, and 3-dimensional aerial image studies were performed during follow-up.

RESULTS

Five of these six cases were found combined with coronary artery fistula, and the cause for these giant coronary artery aneurysms was congenital. The remaining case was caused by atherosclerosis. After surgery, all patients recovered uneventfully, without in-hospital mortality. None died during the follow-up, nor did any have recurrence of the symptoms or giant coronary artery aneurysm.

CONCLUSION

Giant coronary artery aneurysm is a rare entity that is commonly caused by congenital malformation and combined with other cardiac anomalies. An optimal surgical operation should be based on the specific cardiac anomaly of the individual patient.

Left main coronary artery aneurysm associated with extensive coronary arterial calcification: case report and review

We present a 68-year-old male with left main coronary artery aneurysm and extensive coronary calcification involving the entire coronary arterial tree detected by coronary angiography and electron beam computerized tomography. With this article we also discussed the relationships between the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis, coronary calcification, and coronary aneurysm formation.

Successful long-term therapy following saphenous vein-covered stent deployment for atherosclerotic coronary aneurysm

We describe a case of atherosclerotic aneurysm involving the left main coronary artery in a patient with prior coronary artery bypass surgery. A saphenous vein-covered stent was used to seal the aneurysm in conjunction with conventional stenting of an associated native vessel coronary stenosis. Focal late restenosis involving the stent graft was successfully treated with repeat angioplasty and brachytherapy. Autologous vein-covered stent deployment should be considered in the treatment of symptomatic or progressively enlarging coronary aneurysms.

Successful surgical treatment of giant coronary artery aneurysm with fistula

Giant coronary artery aneurysm with fistula formation is a rare entity. We report a giant coronary artery aneurysm with a maximum diameter of 70 mm with fistula, in which a favorable course was obtained after surgical treatment. We also review the literature on giant coronary artery aneurysms exceeding 50 mm in maximum diameter.

Bifurcating aneurysm of the left main coronary artery involving left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries--a case report

Coronary artery aneurysm is a rare coronary abnormality, usually diagnosed incidentally by coronary angiography. Major causes of coronary aneurysms include coronary ectasia, Kawasaki disease, and atherosclerosis. Most of the discrete coronary aneurysms are of atherosclerotic origin. The incidence of atherosclerotic coronary aneurysms is about 0.2%, and the left main coronary artery is the least frequently involved artery. Only a few cases of left main coronary artery aneurysm have been reported in the literature, and a left main coronary artery aneurysm involving the proximal segments of the left anterior descending and the left circumflex arteries has not been reported previously. The authors describe this finding in a man who presented with worsening exertional angina pectoris. Coronary angiography demonstrated an aneurysm of the distal left main coronary artery extending into the proximal segments of the left anterior descending and the left circumflex arteries. In addition, a significant flow-limiting atherosclerotic lesion was present in the proximal portion of the left anterior descending artery distal to the aneurysm.