A complicated spontaneous left main coronary artery dissection. Is the initial conservative management safe in asymptomatic patients?

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome. Knowledge of this condition is scarce and, at present, no consensus exists with regards to the aetiology, prognosis, and treatment. Among patients with SCAD, cases involving the left main (LM) and the left anterior descending (LAD) and circumflex (Cx) arteries bifurcation are even more exceptional. Furthermore, the treatment of asymptomatic patients with involvement of these major vessels poses a major challenge for the cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. We report a case of complicated spontaneous left main coronary artery dissection in which we question what is the best initial treatment in these asymptomatic patients: conservative or early aggressive.

Spontaneous coronary dissection and its long-term prognostic implications in a cohort of 19 cases

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome. It mainly affects women with no significant cardiovascular risk factors and its presentation varies from unstable angina to sudden death. Knowledge of the condition is based only on individual case reports and the lack of large case series means that its treatment and prognostic implications have not been fully established. We present data on 19 instances of spontaneous coronary artery dissection in 18 patients who were treated at our center between May 1998 and January 2009. The median follow-up period was 3.8 years (interquartile range: 1.3-4.6 years). Once the acute phase had passed, the prognosis was favorable and there were no implications for functioning. One patient presented with a relapse in another coronary artery and another patient gave birth without complications 3 years after the dissection.

[Update on interventional cardiology]

Percutaneous intervention, whether coronary or noncoronary, continues to be a highly active area of medicine. This article contains an overview of the most notable developments reported in recent months. Drug-eluting stents (DESs) have provided one of the major advances in interventional cardiology as they have very effectively reduced the restenosis rate. Both randomized clinical trials and large observational studies have confirmed their safety, and their use has been extended to include highly complex conditions. Although thrombosis is one complication that can affect both conventional stents and DESs, the rate of late stent thrombosis is slightly, though significantly, higher with DESs. Primary angioplasty is the treatment of choice for patients with acute myocardial infarction if carried out under appropriate conditions, within a reasonable time period in a specialized center by experienced personnel. Use of thrombectomy devices can improve procedural outcomes and it appears that DES implantation is safe and effective, though more data are still needed. In patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome, early treatment using an invasive approach coupled to the administration of various combinations of antiplatelet and antithrombotic drugs continues to be fundamental. Although left main coronary artery lesions are generally treated surgically, advances in percutaneous techniques and the use of DESs mean that an increasing number of patients are being treated using percutaneous coronary interventions. A number of studies have shown good results in other lesions and in high-risk patients with, for example, bifurcation lesions, chronic occlusions or diabetes. Intracoronary ultrasound is the predominant intracoronary diagnostic technique and it can be used to assist in optimizing DES implantation. In addition, measurement of the fractional flow reserve is helpful in evaluating the severity of moderate lesions whereas the high-resolution images provided by optical coherence tomography are particularly informative. Multislice computed tomography enables the presence of coronary artery disease to be ruled out and the technique is also useful as a complementary tool for interventional cardiologists. Research into regenerative techniques is promising but remains experimental at present. With regard to noncoronary interventions, new data have become available that support the use of a percutaneous approach in patients with patent foramen ovale. In addition, clinical experience with percutaneous aortic valve replacement, via either the transfemoral or transapical route, is increasing.