title: Coronary artery abnormalities in CREST syndrome revealed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: CREST syndrome represents a subset of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Five patients with CREST syndrome and 5 with SSc without cardiac symptoms and with normal routine cardiac examination were investigated by cardiovascular magnetic resonance. All CREST patients had ectatic coronary arteries, and in 1 of them, an inferior, transmural myocardial infarction was identified. Furthermore, patchy fibrosis was identified in all the patients with SSc, although their coronary arteries were normal. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance can be a useful, noninvasive diagnostic tool in the evaluation of asymptomatic CREST and SSc patients.
authors.affiliation: Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, Athens, Greece. soma13@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mavrogeni
authors.forename: Costas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bratis
authors.forename: Menelaos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manoussakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017675:CREST Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*