1.
Coronary artery disease with normal lipids and low coronary artery calcium in two women with high lipoprotein(a).
Haxhi, J, Pershwitz, G, Thompson, PD
Journal of clinical lipidology. 2020;(2):186-188
Abstract
We present 2 patients with elevated levels of lipoprotein (a) and significant coronary artery disease despite having little coronary artery calcification. Clinicians should be aware that patients with elevated lipoprotein (a) may have important coronary artery disease with low coronary artery calcification scores.
2.
Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with multiple coronary arteries to right ventricular microfistulas: a case report and review of the literature.
Meena, DS, Meena, CB, Parvez, J
Journal of medical case reports. 2017;(1):24
Abstract
BACKGROUND Coronary artery microfistulas are a rare anomaly; their association with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is even rarer and can lead to serious cardiac complications owing to coronary steal phenomena such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias, syncope, and sudden death. CASE PRESENTATION A 32-year-old Indian woman presented to our institute with severe angina on exertion and multiple episodes of pre-syncope. Echocardiography revealed hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Coronary angiography showed no significant atherosclerotic lesions; however, it revealed multiple microfistulas originated from all three major coronary arteries and draining into her right ventricle. This finding was confirmed by the rapid filling of the pulmonary artery after dye was injected into her left coronary artery during a cardiac catheterization study and by a significant oxygen step up of 15 % seen from her right atria to right ventricle during oximetry analysis. We treated our patient's condition with medical therapy including metoprolol and nicorandil. She improved and angina grade had decreased from class III to class II on a follow-up visit 1 month after discharge. CONCLUSIONS In this case report and literature review, we highlight an unusual but important association that can lead to symptomatic worsening of angina in young patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy owing to coronary steal phenomena.
3.
Computed tomography coronary calcium screening and myocardial perfusion imaging.
Raggi, P, Berman, DS
Journal of nuclear cardiology : official publication of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. 2005;(1):96-103
Abstract
Cardiac computed tomography (CT) has seen an exponential increase in interest as applications expanded from identification of coronary artery calcification to noninvasive coronary angiography and, more recently, identification of soft and noncalcified plaques. The interest arises from the well-known fact that cardiovascular disease remains the most prevalent cause of death in the Western hemisphere and the fact that in a large proportion of patients the initial event is either sudden death or a disabling myocardial infarction or stroke. Although traditional risk factors are extremely helpful in determining risk in a population, the prognostic ability of risk factors alone in the individual patient is limited. Hence, researchers have turned their attention to noninvasive modalities to image the atherosclerotic plaque in its preclinical stages, hoping to better address this ailment at its inception and change the natural history of the disease. Measurements of coronary artery calcium (CAC) serve as a quantitative reflection of the severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis, and greater calcium burdens correlate with more advanced disease. Indeed, CAC has been shown to add prognostic value to traditional risk factors in patients at intermediate risk, and in this group of patients, it is most cost-effective. Furthermore, CAC measurements providing an assessment of coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden appear to be complementary to myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography that offers information regarding inducible ischemia. In this manner, a better assessment of risk in a patient suspected of harboring preclinical or early coronary artery disease can be achieved. In this article we review the most relevant literature regarding the utilization of CAC testing as a tool to refine risk assessment and use several case studies to exemplify the combination of CT imaging and functional myocardial perfusion studies, which may provide a better identification of patients in need of aggressive medical therapy and those needing invasive assessment for possible coronary revascularization.