title: Association between Traditional Risk Factors and Coronary Artery Ectasia: A Study on 10057 Angiographic Procedures among Iranian Population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Whether coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a unique clinical finding or results from other clinical entities is still unknown. We aimed to determine the CAE prevalence, investigate the relationship between CAE and patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, and assess the prognosis at follow-up in a sample of Iranian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Totally, 10057 patients who underwent coronary angiography were divided into three categories: normal coronary arteries without co-existing coronary artery disease; CAE without co-existing coronary artery narrowing < 50%; and coronary artery stenosis with > 50% luminal narrowing (CAS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of CAE was 1.5%. Compared to the normal individuals, the CAE patients were older, were more frequently male, and had higher rates of myocardial infarction (MI). The CAE patients had a lower frequency of diabetes and MI than the CAS group. The CAE patients were largely focused between 40 to 60 years of age. The right coronary and left anterior descending arteries were the most involved arteries, and ectasia was located more frequently in the proximal part of these arteries. Patients with ectasia in the three main vessels had higher rates of MI. After a mean follow-up of 54.23 ± 18.41 months, chest pain and dyspnea on exertion remained the main complaint in more than 97% of the patients, leading to hospital admission in more than 14%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no relationship between the presence of ectasia and conventional risk factors. According to our study, pure CAE may be deemed a benign feature of atherosclerosis; however, it can lead to frequent hospital admissions because of the persistence of cardiovascular symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Amirzadegan
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davoodi
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soleimani
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lotfi Tokaldany
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hakki Kazazi
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hoda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shabpiray
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mani
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khorsand Askari
keywords: Coronary angiography • Coronary vessel anomalies • Prevalence • Risk factors