title: Anomalous origin of the circumflex coronary artery--two case reports.
abstract: As shown in many series, congenital coronary artery anomalies are found in 0.6 to 1.5% of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Various types of coronary anomalies have been described, many involving the circumflex artery. The second most common anomaly is of the circumflex arising from the right sinus of Valsalva, while origin in the right coronary artery is also frequent. The most common anomaly is absence of the left main coronary artery, the anterior descending and circumflex arteries originating separately in the left coronary sinus. Such anomalies are usually benign, although earlier and more aggressive atherosclerosis is more likely than in normal coronaries and myocardial ischemia can result. Although rare, this can manifest as sudden death. Conventional coronary angiography may be unable to determine the three-dimensional course of the anomalous vessel. The development of multislice computed tomography and its application to cardiac imaging mean that it is now possible to visualize the coronary arteries non-invasively and to obtain more accurate information on their proximal course. We present two cases of congenital anomaly of the circumflex coronary artery diagnosed with the aid of multislice computed tomography.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Pulido Valente, Lisboa, Portugal. vcarmelo@sapo.pt
authors.forename: Vanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carmelo
authors.forename: Júlia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toste
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castela
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mota Carmo
authors.forename: Diogo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Luís Pinto
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lousada
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adão
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*