Complex coronary artery fistulas in adults: evaluation with multidetector computed tomography

Mysterious window: A right coronary artery-left ventricular fistula diagnosed by multiple imaging approaches

Prevalence of primary coronary cameral fistula (CCF) is extremely rare, especially for CCF with its drainage channel into the left ventricle (LV). We describe a 45-year-old male patient with giant aneurysm associated with proximal right coronary artery (RCA), and the distal end of RCA draining into the LV through a fistula, which was discovered by echocardiography. Dual-source computer tomography revealed only the CCF-related giant RCA aneurysm. The drainage site of the fistula and the above coexistent abnormality could not be visualized clearly by coronary artery angiography because of deficient contrast medium filling into the aneurysm. The patient underwent surgical resection of the giant aneurysm and occlusion of the fistula in 2015. Finally, the patient accepted another operation to occlude the residual coronary fistula in 2021.

Surgical repair of a right coronary aneurysm with a coronary artery fistula to the right atrium

A coronary artery fistula is a rare condition caused by abnormal coronary artery embryological development. Although most cases are asymptomatic, in some, the large shunt volume and the myocardial ischemia due to the steal phenomenon require surgical treatment. We present the case of a 40-year-old woman who presented with angina on exertion. Enhanced computed tomography showed a giant right coronary artery (RCA) aneurysm with an RCA-to-right atrium fistula. Because of the presence of symptoms and the presence of large fistulous tract, the patient was considered a surgical candidate. The procedure was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass. Ligation and closure of the fistula were performed in combination with dissection of the enlarged main trunk of the RCA and coronary artery bypass using the internal thoracic artery because of its potential for long-term patency. The postoperative course was uneventful.

Stolen from the coronaries: Left-to-Left shunts presenting as chest pain syndrome!

We present the case of a 61-year-old woman with chest pain syndrome. Cardiac catheterisation did not reveal atherosclerotic coronary disease. However, a haemodynamically significant fistula connecting the left coronary artery to the left atrial appendage was found to be the culprit through a left-to-left shunting mechanism. In this report, we review the pathophysiology of coronary artery fistulas and the mechanism by which these fistulas may lead to 'coronary steal syndrome'. Indications for interventional and surgical management are outlined. Ultimately, we suggest the consideration of coronary artery fistulas in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with chest pain.

Case Report: Surgical Treatment of High-Flow Coronary Fistulas for the Pulmonary Artery

Coronary fistulas are rare anomalies that can affect approximately 1% of the population, presenting few specific symptoms, and are often found occasionally in coronary angiography. Here we describe the case of a 61-year-old patient with complaints of precordialgia and dyspnea since adolescence, with late diagnosis of coronary fistulas with drainage to the pulmonary artery, and with unsuccessful percutaneous treatment.

Therefore, she underwent open surgery for the correction of the already known fistulas, in addition to the hemangioma involving such vessels, which made the understanding and resolution of this case more complex.

The role of the fractional flow reserve in the coronary steal phenomenon evaluation caused by the coronary-pulmonary fistulas: case report and review of the literature

Background

Congenital coronary-pulmonary fistulas (CPFs) are commonly unilateral; however, bilateral and multilateral fistulas are relatively rare. The steal phenomenon aroused from bilateral or multilateral CPFs, and was uncertain and seldom reported. We possess a new tool to assess the hemodynamic significance of coronary artery fistulas. This study aimed to describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities, and management of the coincidentally detected congenital bilateral CPFs.

Case presentation

A case of a 52 year-old female with 10 years history of typical palpitations and chest tightness was presented. The selective coronary arteriography showed a right dominant coronary circulation without significant stenosis; however, with anomalous vessels originating from the proximal right and left anterior descending coronary arteries, draining into the pulmonary artery through a plexus of small vessels. We introduced the fractional flow reserve (FFR) to evaluate the hemodynamic significance of CPFs. The patient was successfully treated with coil embolization.

Conclusions

We presented the case of a female with typical palpitations and chest tightness due to the steal phenomenon that aroused from bilateral CPFs. The fistulas were safely and successfully closed by coil embolization. We showed a new tool for the sophisticated evaluation of the hemodynamic significance of CPFs using FFR measurement and temporary occlusion of the fistula with a standard balloon. FFR could be a promising means for the treatment of decision making of the CPFs.

Rare Cause of Late Recurrent Angina following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Iatrogenic Aortocoronary Arteriovenous Fistula Causing Coronary Steal

Iatrogenic aortocoronary arteriovenous fistula is a very rare complication of coronary artery bypass grafting in which one of the arterial grafts inadvertently forms a fistulous tract with a cardiac vein, shunting blood from the anastomosed coronary artery. We report a patient with an iatrogenic left internal mammary artery graft to cardiac vein fistula presenting with recurrent angina three years after a three-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting.

Fused cardiac hybrid imaging with coronary computed tomography angiography and positron emission tomography in patients with complex coronary artery anomalies

OBJECTIVE

To provide data on the value of fused cardiac hybrid imaging with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (PET-MPI) in patients with complex coronary artery anomalies (CCAA).

DESIGN/SETTING

This is a retrospective, single-center study.

PATIENTS

Seven consecutive patients with CCAA (mean 57 ± 7 y, 86% were male) who underwent clinically indicated hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI between 2005 and 2015 in our clinic were included. The findings from both modalities and fused cardiac hybrid imaging were evaluated in these patients.

RESULTS

Out of the seven patients with CCAA, two patients had Bland-White-Garland anomaly, two patients showed a coronary artery fistula, two patients showed a "single right," and one patient showed a "single left" coronary artery. Semiquantitative fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI depicted inferolateral scar matching the territory of a nonanomalous vessel with significant concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in one patient only. In contrast, analysis of quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) as assessed by fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI revealed abnormally reduced flow capacities in the territories subtended by the anomalous vessels in 4 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

In this case series of middle-aged patients with CCAA, perfusion defects as assessed by semiquantitative PET-MPI were rare and attributable to concomitant CAD rather than to the anomalous vessel itself. By contrast, impaired MBF as assessed by quantitative hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI was revealed in the majority of patients in the vessel territories subtended by the anomalous coronary artery itself. Fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI incorporating information on morphology and on semiquantitative and quantitative myocardial perfusions may provide added value for the management of patients with CCAA.

Sudden cardiac death from structural heart diseases in adults: imaging findings with cardiovascular computed tomography and magnetic resonance

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is defined as the unexpected natural death from a cardiac cause within an hour of the onset of symptoms in the absence of any other cause. Although such a rapid course of death is mainly attributed to a cardiac arrhythmia, identification of structural heart disease by cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT) and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is important to predict the long-term risk of SCD. In adults, SCD most commonly results from coronary artery diseases, coronary artery anomalies, inherited cardiomyopathies, valvular heart diseases, myocarditis, and aortic dissection with coronary artery involvement or acute aortic regurgitation. This review describes the CCT and CMR findings of structural heart diseases related to SCD, which are essential for radiologists to diagnose or predict.

Imaging of acquired coronary diseases: From children to adults

Acquired coronary diseases include aneurysms, fistulae, dissections, and stenosis. Aneurysms may occur secondarily to Kawasaki disease, a childhood vasculitis, the prognosis of which depends on the coronary involvement, or they may be degenerative, infectious, inflammatory, or traumatic in origin. Fistulae develop between the coronary arterial system and a pulmonary or bronchial artery, or cardiac cavity. Dissections may occur spontaneously or may be post-traumatic. These coronary abnormalities may be found incidentally or may present as complications, infarction or rupture. The goals of this article are to understand acquired childhood and adult coronary diseases and their usual means of presentation, the ways of investigating them, and the principles of their treatment.

Coronary artery fistula in adults: evaluation with dual-source CT coronary angiography

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical value of dual-source CT (DSCT) coronary angiography in the diagnosis of coronary artery fistula (CAF) in adults.

METHODS

A large cohort of 17,548 patients, who underwent DSCT coronary angiography in our hospital between January 2008 and October 2013, were retrospectively reviewed for CAF. The origin, course and drainage site of CAF and coexisting abnormalities were analysed. The conventional angiography results, treatments and follow-up DSCT images were also evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 33 CAFs from 17,548 patients were detected. The incidence of CAF was 0.19% by DSCT. CAF originating from the left coronary artery (LCA) was found in 14 (42.4%) patients, from right coronary artery (RCA) in 4 (12.1%) cases and from both LCA and RCA in 15 (45.5%) patients. The pulmonary artery was the most common site of drainage (28/33, 84.8%). 8 of the 33 (24.2%) cases were associated with aneurysms. Six cases were associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis. Four patients underwent conventional angiography.

CONCLUSION

Coronary-pulmonary artery fistula in adults was found more often than in previous studies. CAF commonly originates from LCA or both LCA and RCA in adults. DSCT is a robust tool for investigating the origin, course and drainage site of CAF and coexistent abnormalities.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

A large adult patient cohort who underwent DSCT angiography was reviewed to assess CAFs. Coronary-pulmonary artery fistula in adults was found more often than in previous studies. CAF was observed to originate from the LCA or both coronary arteries in adults. DSCT could clearly depict the fistula origin, course, drainage site and coexisting abnormalities. Conventional angiography results, treatments and follow-up DSCT images were analysed.

Prevalence and types of coronary to pulmonary artery fistula in a Chinese population at dual-source CT coronary angiography

BACKGROUND

Coronary to pulmonary artery fistula (CPAF) is rare; reports on the prevalence and types of CPAF in a large cohort of patients are scarce.

PURPOSE

To analyze the prevalence and types of CPAF on computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) in a large Chinese population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

CTCA data of 58,533 patients from five Chinese tertiary referral medical centers were retrospectively studied. The prevalence, origin, aneurysmal sac, fistula tracts, and extracardiac communication of CPAF were recorded. CTCA findings were compared with conventional coronary angiography when possible.

RESULTS

Ninety-nine patients had CPAF (prevalence of 0.17%). Of the 99 CPAF cases, fistulas were found to originate from either both coronary arteries in 52 patients or from one coronary artery (33 cases from the left and 14 cases from the right coronary artery). Ten CPAF patients were complicated with the communication of extracardiac arteries. Fifteen (15.2%) CPAF patients had aneurysmal sac formation. Thirty (30.3%) patients had a single fistula tract, while 69 (69.7%) patients had multiple fistula tracts. CTCA findings in 16 patients were similar to those at DSA.

CONCLUSION

Based on this large cohort, the prevalence of CPAF in the Chinese population is about 0.17%, with origin from either the left or right coronary artery or from both. CTCA can clearly visualize the types, abnormal vascular tracts, and aneurysmal sac formation of CPAF.

MDCT of congenital coronary artery fistulas

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to describe the evaluation of congenital coronary artery fistulas (CAFs) with MDCT angiography with ECG gating (MDCTA), including the clinical manifestations, scanning techniques, differential diagnosis, and other imaging methods that may be used.

CONCLUSION

Congenital CAFs are rare coronary artery anomalies of termination. MDCTA is a first-line modality for pretreatment planning, and imaging findings should be recognized because CAFs may be detected incidentally.

Multimodality Imaging of Left Circumflex Artery to Coronary Sinus Fistula

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare anomaly of the coronary artery. Patients with this condition are usually asymptomatic. However, cardiac failure may occur later in life due to progressive enlargement of the fistula. Diagnosis is traditionally made by echocardiogram and conventional angiogram. However with the advantage of new technologies such as computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography, the course and communications of these fistulae can be delineated non-invasively and with greater accuracy. We report a case of a left circumflex artery fistula to the coronary sinus which was suspected on echocardiogram and the diagnosis was clinched on ECG-gated CT.

Unilateral and multilateral congenital coronary-pulmonary fistulas in adults: clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities, and management with a brief review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Congenital coronary-pulmonary fistulas (CPFs) are commonly unilateral, but bilateral and multilateral fistulas may occur. In multilateral CPFs, the value of a multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging technique as an adjuvant to coronary angiography (CAG) is eminent. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic modalities, and management of coincidentally detected congenital CPFs.

HYPOTHESIS

Unilateral and multilateral coronary-pulmonary fistulas are increasingly detected due to the wide speard application of multidetector computed tomography which might be a supplementary or replacing to conventional coronary angiography.

METHODS

We evaluated 14 adult patients with congenital coronary artery fistulas (CAFs) who were identified from several Dutch cardiology departments.

RESULTS

Fourteen adult patients (5 female and 9 male), with a mean age of 57.5 years (range, 24-80 years) had the following abnormal findings: audible systolic cardiac murmur (n = 4), chronic atrial fibrillation (n = 2), nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (n = 1), and cardiomegaly on chest x-ray (n = 2). Echocardiography revealed normal findings with trivial valvular abnormalities (n = 9), depressed left ventricle systolic function (n = 3), and severe mitral regurgitation and atrial dilatation (n = 2). The findings in the rest of the patients were unremarkable. CAG and MDCT were used as a diagnostic imaging techniques either alone (CAG, n = 6; MDCT, n = 1) or in combination (n = 7). Single modality and multimodality diagnostic methods revealed 22 fistulas including CPFs (n = 15), coronary cameral fistulas terminating into the right (n = 2) and the left atrium (n = 1), and systemic-pulmonary fistulas (n = 4). Of all of the fistulas, 10 were unilateral, 6 were bilateral, and 6 was hexalateral. (13) N-ammonia positron emission tomography-computed tomography was performed in 3 patients revealing decreased myocardial perfusion reserve.

CONCLUSIONS

CAG remains the gold standard for detection of CPFs. An adjuvant technique using MDCT provides full anatomical details of the fistulas.

Acquired coronary-to-bronchial artery fistula after two valve surgeries

A 62-year-old woman with Takayasu arteritis and 2 prior aortic valve replacements, was admitted with unstable angina. Computed tomographic angiography showed a newly developed right coronary artery-to-right bronchial artery fistula. Because of dense aortic calcification, catheter embolization was undertaken, which was successful. We believe the acquired coronary artery fistula developed after her uneventful second aortic valve surgery, due to inevitable trauma to the mediastinum and ascending aorta, and partly due to her underlying Takayasu arteritis.

Cardiovascular disease: thinking beyond atherosclerosis

A 56-year-old female patient was referred to our institution for atypical chest pain and palpitations. Physical examination, resting ECG and transthoracic echocardiogram were unremarkable. Stress perfusion scintigraphy was positive for anterior and apical myocardial ischaemia. A subsequent coronary angiogram showed no signs of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease; however, it revealed a coronary arteriovenous fistula and multiple other fistulous connections between the proximal segment of the left coronary artery and the pulmonary artery trunk. We present a rare case of a symptomatic coronary fistula that was percutaneously closed using an Amplatzer Vascular Plug, which resulted in clinical improvement and late fistula occlusion. This case report underlines the importance of thinking beyond atherosclerosis in the evaluation of chest pain syndromes. Moreover, it describes some of the angiogram caveats in assessing the coronary fistula number and morphology, as well as the cardiac-catheter potential for multiple pathway coronary artery fistulae closure.

Iatrogenic Aortocoronary Arteriovenous Fistula following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Case Report and Complete Review of the Literature

The case of a patient who presented with angina following a coronary artery bypass (CABG) operation during which the left internal mammary artery was inadvertently anastomosed to a cardiac vein is presented. The literature concerning previously reported cases of aortocoronary arteriovenous fistulas (ACAVF) due to inadvertent grafting of a coronary vein is reviewed and the significance of this complication is discussed. ACAVF due to inadvertent grafting of a coronary vein is a rare complication of CABG and may be a more common cause of graft failure than has previously been recognized. Distortion of cardiac anatomy, the presence of epicardial fat, and an intramyocardial course of the artery intended for grafting are predisposing factors. Some patients present with angina pectoris and heart failure whereas others have no symptoms. The diagnostic test of choice is coronary angiography. Cardiac MRI and CT have a limited role due to the smaller size and the more clearly defined course of these fistulas. Asymptomatic patients are simply observed since spontaneous closure of these fistulas is reported. Symptomatic patients can be treated with combined medical management and percutaneous methods.