Retroaortic anomalous coronary artery sign and other cardiac imaging methods: rare or underdiagnosed condition?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47456/rbps.v26isupl_1.44400Keywords:
Anomalous Left Coronary Artery, Echocardiography, Coronary Artery DiseaseAbstract
Introduction: Despite of the low prevalence (less than 1%) of anomalous coronary arteries in the general population, their occurrence may be associated with sudden death and is also a differential diagnosis of causes of chest pain. Case Report: This case report aims to tell the story of a 59-year-old female patient, previously healthy, with no history of risk factors to atherosclerotic artery disease. She presents to the emergency room complaining of chest pain. Transthoracic echocardiography identified hypokinesia of the apical segments of the lateral and anterior walls and the presence of a hyperechoic tubular image in the apical window in a four-chamber view. Coronary computed tomography angiography identified the retroaortic path of the circumflex artery, between the aorta and atria, suggesting an anomalous origin of the circumflex artery, confirming the echocardiographic finding. Discussion: Technological advances in cardiac imaging methods have allowed more quality visualization of heart structures, which enables identification of anomalies or diseases that were infrequent so far. Conclusion: Therefore, knowing this entity called anomalous coronary artery and understanding the role of each cardiac imaging method in this context is important because anomalous coronary arteries can be associated with hard outcomes, but they can also be detected with an acceptable degree of specificity on echocardiography.
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