Coronary artery ectasia - A sample from Saudi Arabia

Assessment of prevalence and risk factors of isolated coronary artery ectasia: A 5-year double-center retrospective study in Yazd, Iran

Background

The prevalence of Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) varies from 0.‌3 to 5% in different countries. The prevalence of CAE has varied in different parts of the world and the study of risk factors can be effective in the process of diagnosis and treatment of patients, we reviewed patients who underwent coronary angiography for 5 years to determine the prevalence of isolated CAE and its associated risk factors.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 16600 patients who underwent coronary angiography at Shahid Sadoughi and Afshar hospitals between March 2015 to April 2020. Diagnosis and confirmation of CAE was defined as a vessel diameter greater than 1.5 times the normal diameter of the vessel, which must be confirmed by at least two cardiologists. Demographic variables, angiography and echocardiography reports were included in our final analysis.

Results

Isolated CAE was diagnosed in 287 (1.7%) patients. After triple-vessel disease (53%), the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was the commonest affected vessel by ectasia 16% (46 cases). Diffuse isolated CAE was diagnosed in 52% of LAD, 76.6% of Right coronary artery (RCA), and 74.1% of left circumflex artery. A significant association was seen between the vessel involved and the nature of ectasia (p<0.001).

Conclusion

In our study, the occurrence of isolated CAE was similar to other studies. This condition often affects all three major vessels of the coronary arteries, and is commonly categorized as type 1, which involves diffuse involvement of the arteries based on the Markis and Harikrishnan Classification.

High frequency of coronary artery ectasia in obstructive sleep apnea

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a greater risk of developing coronary artery disease. However, the frequency of specific coronary artery vascular phenotypes, such as coronary artery ectasia (CAE), which has a frequency of 5% in the general population, has not been studied in patients with OSA. This study aimed to estimate CAE frequency in patients with OSA who underwent coronary angiography.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed. The results of each polysomnography were reviewed, classifying OSA severity according to the apnea-hypopnea index. Each coronary angiography was reviewed. CAE was defined and classified according to the scales described in the literature. Two groups of patients were classified and compared (OSA/CAE group vs OSA/non-CAE group).

RESULTS

We identified the frequency of CAE in 185 patients with OSA who underwent coronary angiography. The frequency of CAE was 18.4% in these patients. ST-elevation myocardial infarction as the indication for coronary angiography was significantly greater in the OSA/CAE group than the OSA/non-CAE group (26.5% vs 9.9%; P = .02); 62% of the patients having severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 30 events/h). These patients in the OSA/CAE group had a significantly higher median apnea-hypopnea index than in the OSA/non-CAE group (72.5 events/h vs 53.5 events/h, respectively; P = .039). The CAE severity was not directly related to the OSA severity.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of CAE in patients with OSA is higher than that reported for the general population. The severity of OSA is related to the presence of CAE but not to its severity.

CITATION

del Portillo JH, Hernandez BM, Bazurto MA, Echeverri D, Cabrales J. High frequency of coronary artery ectasia in obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):433-438.

One-Year Outcome of Patients with Coronary Artery Ectasia Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Clinical Implications and Question Marks

Background: Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a rare condition with unclear pathophysiology, optimal treatment, and prognosis. We aimed to determine the prognostic implications of CAE following coronary angioplasty.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 385 patients, including 87 subjects with CAE, who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were considered to consist of mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), repeated revascularization, and stroke.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 57.31±6.70 years. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that patients with diabetes, ST-segment–elevation MI at presentation, and high thrombus grades were more likely to have suboptimal post-PCI thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow. However, CAE was not a predictor of a decreased TIMI flow (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 0.78–8.32; P=0.391). The Cox-regression model showed that CAE, the body mass index, and a family history of MI were risk factors for MACE, while short lesion lengths (<20 vs >20 mm) had an inverse relationship. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the prediction of MACE in the presence of CAE was 1.65 (95% CI: 1.08–4.78; P=0.391). All-cause mortality (HR: 1.69, 95% CI: 0.12–3.81; P=0.830) and nonfatal MI (HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.72–4.21; P=0.341) occurred similarly in the CAE and non-CAE groups. Conversely, CAE increased urgent repeat revascularization (HR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.13–5.86; P=0.013).

Conclusion: Although CAE had no substantial short-term prognostic effects on post-PCI TIMI flow, considerable concerns regarding adverse outcomes emerged during our extended follow-up. Stringent follow-ups of these patients should be underscored due to the high likelihood of urgent revascularization.

Difference in inflammation, atherosclerosis, and platelet activation between coronary artery aneurysm and coronary artery ectasia

Background

Coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) and coronary artery ectasia (CAE) may be two different types of coronary artery dilatation with unknown etiology. This study aimed to compare the differences between CAA and CAE and to investigate their pathogenesis and the necessity of antiplatelet therapy.

Methods

One hundred patients each with confirmed CAA, CAE, and normal coronary artery (NCA) from September 2017 to July 2019 were included. All patients completed examinations of the ankle-brachial index (ABI), pulse wave rate, and carotid ultrasonography; and were tested for routine blood, lipid, and immune parameters. Blood samples were collected 1 week after the withdrawal of antiplatelet drugs, and vascular inflammatory indexes, platelet activation indexes, thromboelastography, and the platelet aggregation rate were measured. Analysis of variance and the chi-square or Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.

Results

The perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), endothelial-1, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly higher in CAE than in NCA, while cytoplasmic ANCA was appreciably higher in CAE than in CAA (P<0.05). Myeloperoxidase and growth/differentiation factor-15 were significantly higher in CAE than in CAA and NCA (P<0.05). ABI was significantly lower in CAA and CAE than in NCA (P<0.05), low-density lipoprotein/high-density lipoprotein was significantly higher in CAA than in NCA (P<0.05), and the detection rate of carotid artery thickening was significantly higher in CAA than in CAE and NCA (P<0.05). The Gensini and SYNTAX scores were significantly higher in CAA than in CAE (P<0.05). The percentages of CD62P and PAC-1 were higher in CAA and CAE than in NCA (P<0.05). The arachidonic acid aggregation rate in CAA and adenosine 5'-diphosphate aggregation rate in CAE were significantly higher than in NCA (P<0.05). The values of thrombin formation time and reaction time were significantly lower in CAE than in NCA (P<0.05), and the α angle was significantly higher in CAE than in NCA.

Conclusions

CAE was closely related to inflammation, whereas CAA was closely related to atherosclerosis. Platelet activation was present in both diseases; therefore, antiplatelet therapy is recommended.

Prescribing patterns of coronary artery aneurysm in Taiwan

Background

Coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) is a rare disease, and there are limited data on prescribing patterns for CAA. The aim of our study was to investigate prescribing patterns for CAA in Taiwan via the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

Methods

We included all CAA patients in Taiwan from 2005 to 2011. Data from 1 year before and after the CAA diagnosis were used to analyze examinations, comorbidities and prescribing patterns.

Results

A total of 1397 patients diagnosed with CAA were enrolled in our study. Most pediatric patients with CAA were diagnosed with Kawasaki disease (95.7%). In pediatric CAA patients, the utilization rates of aspirin and gamma globulins were 82.9 and 53.6%, respectively, after CAA diagnosis. Among the antithrombotic agents, aspirin was used most commonly, followed by dipyridamole (16.9%), heparin (5.8%) and warfarin (4.6%). In adult CAA patients, common comorbidities included hypertension (63.4%), hyperlipidemia (39.6%), and diabetes mellitus (26.1%). Coronary atherosclerosis was identified in 72.5% of adult patients after CAA diagnosis. Antithrombotic agents, particularly aspirin, clopidogrel and heparin, were prescribed more frequently after CAA diagnosis. Among the prescribed medications, aspirin (75.8%), β-blockers (48.3%), statins (47.6%), metformin (14.4%), sulfonylureas (14.4%) and isosorbide mononitrate (32.9%) were frequently observed in each category.

Conclusions

Kawasaki disease was the main cause of CAA in pediatric patients, and coronary artery disease was the most common comorbidity in adult CAA patients. The most commonly used antithrombic agent after CAA diagnosis was aspirin in both adult and pediatric patients.

Epidemiology and risk factors of coronary artery aneurysm in Taiwan: a population based case control study

OBJECTIVES

Coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) is usually an asymptomatic and rare disease. There are limited epidemiological data for CAA in Asian populations and in the rest of the world.

DESIGN

A retrospective case control study.

SETTING

A population based, database study from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, between 2005 and 2011.

PARTICIPANTS

CAA patients identified using International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, clinical modification (ICD-9-CM) code 414.11 with CAA examinations.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The incidence rate and mortality rate of CAA were calculated. We also matched patients with non-CAA patients according to age, gender and index year at a 1:10 ratio to explore the risk factors for CAA using conditional logistic regression.

RESULT

A total of 1397 CAA patients were identified between 2005 and 2011; 41.9% were paediatric patients and 58.1% were adults. The incidence rate and mortality rate of CAA in Taiwan were 0.87 and 0.05 per 10⁵ person-years, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for coronary atherosclerosis, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes were 7.97, 2.09, 2.48 and 1.51, respectively. Of note, aortic dissection (aOR 6.76), aortic aneurysm (aOR 5.82) and systemic lupus erythematosus (aOR 4.09) were found to be significantly associated with CAA.

CONCLUSION

In Taiwan, CAA patients were distributed across both paediatric and adult populations. Apart from cardiovascular risk factors, aortic diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus need to be investigated further in CAA patients.

Coronary Artery Ectasia-A Review of Current Literature

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is one of the uncommon cardiovascular disorders. Its incidence ranges from 1.2%-4.9%. Coronary artery ectasia likely represents an exaggerated form of expansive vascular remodeling (i.e. excessive expansive remodeling) in response to atherosclerotic plaque growth with atherosclerosis being the most common cause. Although, it has been described more than five decades ago, its management is still debated. We therefore reviewed the literature until date by searching PubMed and Google scholar using key words “coronary artery ectasia”, “coronary artery aneurysm”, “pathophysiology”, “diagnosis”, “management” either by itself or in combination. We reviewed the full articles and review articles and focused mainly on pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of CAE.

Prevalence of Coronary Artery Ectasia with Atherosclerosis and Associated Risk Factors in the West of Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

According to the angiographic findings, 3%-8% of atherosclerotic coronary artery patients suffer from coronary artery ectasia (CAE). We conducted this study to estimate the prevalence of CAE among patients who underwent angiography and compared this group with those patients without CAE and atherosclerosis in terms of common coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors.

METHODS

This cross sectional study was conducted in Hamadan Province, western Iran, from March 2014 to March 2015. Data were collected from angiography evaluation and clinical records in Ekbatan Hospital. The patients with atherosclerosis who had CAE were compared with patients who had neither CAE nor atherosclerosis. The categorical variables were compared using chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

Of 2767 patients who underwent coronary angiography, 166 (6.0%) had CAE with atherosclerosis, 2357 (85.2%) had atherosclerosis without CAE, and 244 (8.8%) had normal coronary artery. Compared to normal group, CAE patient were more hypertensive and smoker. Besides, in CAE group the proportion of dyslipidemia was higher than normal subject.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of CAE in Hamadan Province was in the expected level. Distribution of common CHD risk factors were most prevalent in CAE patient in comparison with normal coronary artery group.