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Kastellanos S, Aznaouridis K, Vlachopoulos C, Tsiamis E, Oikonomou E, Tousoulis D. Overview of coronary artery variants, aberrations and anomalies. World J Cardiol 2018; 10:127-140. [PMID: 30386490 PMCID: PMC6205847 DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v10.i10.127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Revised: 08/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronary artery anomalies and variants are relatively uncommon congenital disorders of the coronary artery anatomy and constitute the second most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes. The rapid advancement of imaging techniques, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography, have provided us with a wealth of new information on the subject. Anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the contralateral sinus is the anomaly most frequently associated with sudden cardiac death, in particular if the anomalous coronary artery has a course between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. However, other coronary anomalies, like anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery, atresia of the left main stem and coronary fistulae, have also been implicated in cases of sudden cardiac death. Patients are usually asymptomatic, and in most of the cases, coronary anomalies are discovered incidentally during coronary angiography or on autopsy following sudden cardiac death. However, in some cases, symptoms like angina, syncope, heart failure and myocardial infarction may occur. The aims of this article are to present a brief overview of the diverse coronary variants and anomalies, focusing especially on anatomical features, clinical manifestations, risk of sudden cardiac death and pathophysiologic mechanism of symptoms, as well as to provide valuable information regarding diagnostic workup, follow-up, therapeutic choices and timing of surgical treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stylianos Kastellanos
- Cardiology Department, Castle Hill Hospital, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Cottingham HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Aznaouridis
- Cardiology Department, Castle Hill Hospital, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Cottingham HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece.
| | - Charalambos Vlachopoulos
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
| | - Eleftherios Tsiamis
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
| | - Evangelos Oikonomou
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
| | - Dimitris Tousoulis
- Peripheral Vessels Unit and EKKAN (Unit for the athletes and for hereditary cardiovascular diseases), 1 Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
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