Pitfalls of intervention therapy in a patient with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva associated with organic stenosis.

ABSTRACT

A 64-year-old man visited our hospital with a complaint of exertional chest discomfort. Exercise electrocardiography revealed ST segment depression in the V4-V6 leads, and exercise thallium myocardial scintigraphy demonstrated myocardial ischemia in the area of the right coronary artery, suggesting effort angina. Diagnostic coronary angiography revealed an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva and 90% organic stenosis at the proximal portion. We performed percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), but repeat PTCA was required 3 months later because of restenosis. Follow-up angiography 1 year later showed regression of the stenotic lesion to less than 50% diameter compared with the data obtained 3 months after the second PTCA. However, exercise 99mtechnetium-tetrofosmin myocardial scintigraphy disclosed obvious myocardial ischemia in the inferior region. These results suggested that the myocardial ischemia in this particular patient was caused not only by the organic stenosis but also by the anatomic anomaly which might reduce coronary blood flow during exercise. Such patients should be followed up cautiously with much more sophisticated methodology.