Anomalous origin of right coronary artery with interarterial course revealed by effort angina: case report

Abstract

Anomalous origin of coronary artery with interarterial course is recognized as a rare congenital heart disease. Its main manifestation is myocardial ischemia related to systolic compression of coronary arteries positioned between the great arteries. We report a case of a middle-aged man admitted in our department for an effort angina during nordic walking. A coronary angiography was performed showing an anomalous coronary artery with a birth defect giving a right common trunk of the circumflex artery and the right coronary artery. We proceeded to a multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography (MDCTCA) to describe this variant of an anomalous coronary arteries which revealed a birth defect in the left anterior sinus of the right coronary and the circumflex artery from a right common trunk passing between the aorta and the trunk of the pulmonary arteries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), exercise stress test and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy were performed in order to objectify an ischemia. Despite the positivity of myocardial scintigraphy, we recommended to our patient to limit exercise with a regular follow-up since he is only symptomatic during a major effort. There are many types of anomalous coronary arteries and the anatomic variant of a right coronary artery that course between the great vessels represents a risk of adverse event and sudden death in young athletes. The choice of therapy is controversial and depends especially on the variant of anomalous coronary artery and the symptoms.