Congenital coronary artery fistulas: three different presentations in catheterization laboratoy and review of the literature

Abstract

Congenital coronary artery fistulas (CAF) are a sizable connection between a large sub-epicardial coronary artery and a great vessel, a cardiac chamber or pulmonary circulation. They are a rare heart defect, usually found incidentally, associated sometimes to other congenital defects. We present three different case report (Case 1: coronary artery steal phenomen, Case 2: two different types of CAF associated to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Case 3: CAF between coronary and right ventricle in congestive heart failure) and review of literature discussing the epidemiology, morphology, clinical presentation and complications, diagnosis techniques and treatment possibilities.