Background and Objective:
The pathophysiology of isolated coronary artery ectasia (CAE) remains poorly understood although associations between CAE and a broad spectrum of different diseases, especially atherosclerotic coronary artery disease have been reported. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of CAE and its relationship to obstructive artery disease in the Chinese Population.
Methods and Results:
This study recruited 3793 consecutive patients who had undergone coronary angiography for suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) between January 2009 and December 2014. The median age of the patients was 63 years (range, 27 to 94 years) and the majority (69.71%) was male. There were 3068 patients with obstructive coronary artery disease, including angina pectoris (n=1611), acute myocardial infarction (n=1265), and old myocardial infarction (n=192). A total of 120 cases (Male, n=93, female, n=27) with a median age of 63 years (range, 28-86) were identified as CAE in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Co-existent CAD was present in 94% of CAE patients, including 56 angina pectoris; 53 acute myocardial infarction; and 4 old myocardial infarction cases. The prevalence of CAE in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease was 3.67%. The frequency of arterial involvement was: right coronary artery (RCA), 63%; left anterior descending artery (LAD), 43%; left circumflex artery (LCX), 38%; and left main artery (LM), 14%. CAE affected only 1 major vessel in 83% of cases, 2 vessels in 12%, and all 3 vessels in 5%. Using multivariate analysis, serum levels of uric acid were independently associated with present of CAE (P<0.001), while other cardiovascular risk factors such age, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, and diabetes mellitus did not show statistically significant associations (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
The prevalence of CAE in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease was 3.67%. The RCA was the most commonly affected and most patients had single vessel involvement. Increased serum uric acid level may be a potential risk factor for presence of CAE.
Coronary artery ectasia in acute myocardial infarction: To be culprit or not to be?
