Pattern of coronary arterial lesions amongst Saudi Arabians: a cross-sectional coronary fluoroscopic angiography study

Abstract

Introduction: coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cardiovascular disease (CVD) that affects a large population globally. This study aimed at determining coronary arterial lesions (CAL), particularly in terms of age, gender, coronary artery/arteries involved, number of lesions, and dominant coronary artery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted at the King Khalid Hospital and Prince Sultan Centre for Health Care in Al-Kharj between January 2017 and March 2018. The patients with CAD lesion/s, fulfilling the inclusion criteria, were recruited from the cardiovascular medicine unit. Demographic information and the location and extent of their CAD lesions were extracted and documented in electronic case report form (eCRF). SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis, and p value ≤ 0.05 was considered as significant.

Results: of the 262 patients, male and female preponderance was 74.8% and 25.2% respectively. The majority of the patients were adults above the age of 50 (72%). About half of all patients were active smokers (53%). Diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia were recorded in 63%, 53.7% and 25% respectively. The incidence of cardiovascular lesions was documented after coronary angiography; left circumflex artery lesions had the highest incidence (85.3%), followed by left anterior descending artery lesions (82.4%) and right circumflex artery lesions (74.3%). Left main coronary artery lesions had the lowest incidence (10.3%). Most patients (59.6%) had three concomitant lesions, whereas a minority of patients had two (22.8%) and one lesion (17.7%).

Conclusion: the pattern of CALs is different among the Saudi population as compared to other countries.