title: Spontaneous left main coronary artery dissection. A rare cause of acute coronary syndrome.
abstract: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome and sudden cardiac death. Involvement of the left main coronary artery is uncommon accounting for 9% of all cases. The condition commonly affects premenopausal females with about one third of the cases occurring during pregnancy and the peripartum period. The diagnosis may occasionally be overlooked as the patients are often young and have no risk factors for coronary artery disease. The clinical presentation and interesting angiographic findings of a 42-year-old female patient with left main coronary artery dissection are described along with a brief discussion of the pathogenesis and management of the condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. mahaabdulrahman@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al-Mohaissen
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D003323:Coronary Aneurysm / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D035583:Rare Diseases; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome