Acute coronary syndrome in a patient with a single coronary artery arising from the right sinus of Valsalva

Coronary artery anomalies are usually encountered as coincidental findings during coronary angiography or at autopsy. Life threatening symptoms, such as arrhythmias, syncope, myocardial infarction, or sudden death, can occur in up to 20% of patients. However, the majority of anomalies (80%) are benign and asymptomatic. A single coronary artery (SCA) is one of the most rarely seen coronary anomalies with an incidence of 0.05%. We report the case of a 55-year old male patient who presented with symptoms of chest pain associated with an acute myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography revealed an anomalous left main coronary artery (LMCA) originating from the right coronary ostium, and an occluded distal right coronary artery. The occluded distal right coronary artery was successfully treated by thrombosuction and stenting. In order to confirm the origin and course of the SCA, multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) of the heart was performed after coronary angiography. MSCT showed that the anomalous LMCA originated from the right coronary artery ostium and then passed the interventricular septum, instead of being intra arterial, and under the right ventricular infundibulum. The anomalous LMCA was classified as R-II S subtype according to Lipton’s classification.

Combined Surgical Treatment of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease and Moderate Aortic Valve Stenosis in Patient with Concomitant Lipton’s R-III Type of Single Coronary Artery Anomaly

A single coronary artery is a very rare condition,commonly associated with other congenital anomalies.It could be generally considered as neither benign nor malignant form of congenital coronary artery anomalies since its pathophysiological and clinical implications grossly depend on different anatomical patterns defined by the site of origin and distribution of the branches.By presenting the patient who underwent successful coronary artery bypass grafting and aortic valve replacement surgery in a presence of isolated single coronary artery,we intend to emphasize natural and procedural risks and distinguish casual from causal in this extremely rare clinical and surgical scenario.

Coronary angioplasty for in-stent restenosis in patient with anomalous single coronary artery arising from right sinus valsalva

Single coronary artery is a coincidental finding during coronary angiography or at autopsy. Although it is a rare condition and most of time has an asymptomatic clinic;prognosis varies. We would like to report a case about percutaneous coronary intervention in a patient who has anomalous single coronary artery arising from right sinus valsalva.

Challenging situation of coronary artery anomaly associated with ischemia and/or risk of sudden death

Coronary artery anomaly is known as one of the causes of angina pectoris and sudden death and is an important clinical entity that cannot be overlooked.The incidence of coronary artery anomalies is as low as 1%-2%of the general population,even when the various types are combined.Coronary anomalies are practically challenging when the left and right coronary ostium are not found around their normal positions during coronary angiography with a catheter.If there is atherosclerotic stenosis of the coronary artery with an anomaly and percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)is required,the suitability of the guiding catheter at the entrance and the adequate back up force of the guiding catheter are issues.The level of PCI risk itself should also be considered on a caseby-case basis.In this case,emission computed tomography in the R-1 subtype single coronary artery proved that ischemia occurred in an area where the coronary artery was not visible to the naked eye.Meticulous follow-up would be crucial,because sudden death may occur in single coronary arteries.To prevent atherosclerosis with full efforts is also important,as the authors indicated admirably.

Coronary anomaly： the single coronary artery

Single coronary artery （SCA）, defined as an artery that arises from the arterial trunk and nourishes the entire myocardium, is rare. We report two cases of SCA, one is the fight coronary artery （RCA） originating from the middle of left descending artery （LAD）, and the other is the left main coronary artery （LMCA） arising from the proximal fight coronary artery.

Single coronary artery anomaly： the left main coronary artery originating from the proximal segment of right coronary artery

This case report we presented is that the anomalous left main coronary artery （LMCA） originates from the proximal segment of right coronary artery. In order to confirm the origin and course of the anomalous LMCA, a multi-slice computed tomography （MSCT） of the heart was performed on a 64-slice machine （Philips 64 Slice, Philips, USA） after 6 months of coronary angiography operation. The results showed that the anomalous LMCA originates from the proximal segment of right coronary artery, lies posteriorly to the aorta before taking acute sharply to go between the aorta and left atrium. It was classified as R-Ⅱ P subtype according to Lipton＇s classification. It is a rare case in the clinical practice.

R-I subtype single right coronary artery with congenital absence of left coronary system: A case report

BACKGROUND Isolated single coronary artery is a rare congenital anomaly.R-I subtype single coronary artery is even rarer.In this subtype,a very large right coronary artery extends in the coronary sulcus to the anterior base of the heart where it produces the left anterior descending coronary artery.Currently,only a few case reports are available in the literature for this anomaly.CASE SUMMARY Here,we report the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented to the cardiology clinic with decreased exercise tolerance and poor blood pressure control.The patient underwent coronary angiography(CAG)and emission computed tomography(ECT).CAG images revealed a single gigantic right coronary artery(R-I type)arising from the right coronary sinus with branches supplying the left coronary territory.The ECT results confirmed myocardial ischemia at the location of the absent left coronary artery.The ECT findings confirmed that ischemia was consistent with the vascular loss location in CAG images.In such anomalies,there is a compensatory widening of the coronary artery lumen.Medical treatment was administered,and the patient was discharged.CONCLUSION Isolated single coronary arteries are associated with ischemia and potentially fatal acute coronary events.Hence,controlling risk factors is critical.

Single coronary artery arising from right sinus of valsalva

52-year-old man presented with a history of angina .pectoris over 3 months. He had a history ofhypertension and hyperlipidemia. His physical examination, blood chemistry, ECG, chest X-ray were normal. A treadmill exercise ECG test was performed using the Bruce protocol. Owing to 1 mm ST segment depressions at derivations DⅡ, DⅢ, aVE V4-V6, and typical chest pain at third stage the test was evaluated as ischemia-positive test. Therefore, he was scheduled fox diagnostic coronary angiography.

Congenital absence of the right coronary artery:A case report

BACKGROUND As a rare anomaly,congenital absence of the right coronary artery(RCA)occurs during the development of coronary artery.Patients with congenital absence of the RCA often show no clinical symptoms,and this disease is considered benign.The left coronary artery gives blood supply to the whole myocardium.The prevalence of congenital absence of the RCA is approximately 0.024%-0.066%.There are few cases reported as for this disease.In this work,a patient,with congenital absence of the RCA diagnosed by coronary angiography(CAG),was described.CASE SUMMARY A 41-year-old man arrived at our hospital for treatment,due to the repeated palpitations for a duration of one year.Considering the possibility of coronary heart disease,the patient underwent CAG that indicated the congenital absence of the RCA.Unfortunately,the patient refused to accept computed tomography coronary angiography(CTCA),to further confirm the congenital absence of the RCA.CONCLUSION Single coronary artery is a rare type of coronary artery abnormality,which usually has no obvious clinical manifestations and is considered as a benign disease.CAG is the main means by which congenital absence of the RCA can be diagnosed,and the disease can also be further confirmed by CTCA.

Diagnostic value of18F-FDG PET in the assessment of myocardial viability in coronary artery disease：A comparative study with99mTc SPECT and echocar-diography

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography （18F-FDG PET） in the as-sessment of myocardial viability in patients with known coronary artery disease （CAD） when compared to99mTc single photon emission computed tomography （SPECT） and echocardiography, with invasive coronary angiography as the gold standard.MethodsThirty patients with diagnosed CAD met the selection criteria, with 10 of them （9 men, mean age 59.5 ± 10.5 years） undergoing all of these imaging proce-dures consisting of SPECT and PET, echocardiography and invasive angiography. Diagnostic sensitivity of these less invasive modalities for detection of myocardial viability was compared to invasive coronary angiography. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was assessed for di-agnostic performance of SPECT and PET.ResultsOf all patients with proven CAD, 50% had triple vessel disease. Diagnostic sensitivity of SPECT, PET and echocardiography was 90%, 100% and 80% at patient-based assessment, respectively. Excellent agreement was achieved between inter-observer and intra-observer agreement of the diagnostic value of SPECT and PET in myocardial viability （k= 0.9）. Conclusion18F-FDG PET has high diagnostic value in the assessment of myocardial viability in patients with known CAD when com-pared to SPECT and echocardiography. Further studies based on a large cohort with incorporation of18F-FDG PET into patient management are warranted.

Molecular imaging of plaques in coronary arteries with PET and SPECT

Coronary artery disease remains a major cause of mortality. Presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary artery is responsible for lu-men stenosis which is often used as an indicator for determining the severity of coronary artery disease. However, the degree of coronary lumen stenosis is not often related to compromising myocardial blood flow, as most of the cardiac events that are caused by atherosclerotic plaques are the result of vulnerable plaques which are prone to rupture. Thus, identification of vulnerable plaques in coronary arteries has become increas-ingly important to assist identify patients with high cardiovascular risks. Molecular imaging with use of positron emission tomography （PET） and single photon emission computed tomography （SPECT） has fulfilled this goal by providing functional information about plaque activity which enables accurate assessment of plaque stability. This review article provides an overview of diagnostic applications of molecular imaging tech-niques in the detection of plaques in coronary arteries with PET and SPECT. New radiopharmaceuticals used in the molecular imaging of coro-nary plaques and diagnostic applications of integrated PET/CT and PET/MRI in coronary plaques are also discussed.

Case Report:Coronary arterial spasm in single right coronary artery

We presented a case of anomalous single-coronary artery detected incidentally during routine coronary angiography. A 32-year-old male Chinese patient presented with recurrent pre-syncope and six episodes of syncope. Coronary angiography and coronary-computed tomography (CT)-angiography performed by a dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) revealed that the patient had a single large right coronary artery. A moderately large branch originated from the proximal part of the single right coronary artery and extended to the left,passing the anterior to the pulmonary artery,and divided into the anterior descending artery branch and circumflex branch at the base of the left auricular appendage. The episodes of the syncope were suspected to be caused by coronary arterial spasm,so this patient was on a regimen of 30 mg of diltiazem every 6 h and had no recurrence of syncope during follow-up.