Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection of an Anomalous Right Coronary Artery in a Young Male.

Abstract

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a tear in the coronary artery layers that presents clinically as an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ventricular arrhythmias, or sudden cardiac death (SCD). It is uncommon for young healthy males with no comorbid conditions to have SCAD. We report an interesting case of SCAD in an anomalous right coronary artery (RCA) in a young 33-year-old male. The patient presented with episodes of midsternal chest pain and had elevated troponins on laboratory workup. A left heart catheterization revealed anomalous RCA, originating from the left aortic sinus. The left heart catheterization also demonstrated a SCAD of the anomalous RCA. Cardiothoracic surgery was consulted, and the patient had placement of saphenous vein graft to the proximal RCA. While this patient’s presentation of ACS in the setting of SCAD is relatively common, it was atypical due to gender and lack of precipitating stressors. One of the risk factors this patient did have was the anomalous RCA arising from the left aortic sinus. There is scarce literature involving guidance for therapeutic intervention for RCA ostial lesion, let alone an anomalous one. Although coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains the most clinically sound decision, in this case, further development of guidelines for RCA lesions would aid in decision-making.