Coronary Artery Bypass – ABC CARDIOL

IJCS

Original Article

Evaluation of Different Therapeutic Approaches for Acute Coronary Syndromes in Patients Undergoing Chronic Dialysis: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Matheus Eduardo França et al. Ana Luiza de Fragas Franciani Rodrigues da Rocha Leonardo Claudino Ribeiro Silvia R. Froes Toniazzo

Abstract

Background:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly those undergoing dialysis, accounting for approximately 40% of deaths. The prevalence of ischemic coronary disease among patients undergoing hemodialysis over the age of 45 reaches 41%.

Objective:

To analyze outcomes of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing chronic dialysis, stratified by invasive assessment, and treated with one of three approaches: medical therapy alone (MTA), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods:

This was a retrospective, analytical, observational cohort study based on data from electronic medical records collected between 2013 and 2023, including a total of 68 patients. Quantitative variables were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and qualitative variables were assessed using Pearson’s chi-square test. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

The mean age was 60.2 ± 13.1 years, with a male predominance of 42 patients (62.8%). The highest mortality was observed in the MTA group with 25 deaths (69.4%), followed by PCI with 10 deaths (56.6%), and the lowest in the coronary artery bypass grafting group with six deaths (42.9%). Among patients who did not use statins, 19 (82.6%) died (p < 0.01). The lowest rate of readmission due to coronary syndrome occurred in the MTA group (two patients; 18.2%), while the highest was in the PCI group (six patients; 54.5%) (p = 0.02).

Conclusion:

Although no statistically significant difference in mortality was found among the three therapeutic strategies, MTA was associated with lower rates of readmission and repeat cardiac catheterization. In contrast, PCI was linked to a higher risk of readmission due to coronary syndrome.

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IJCS

Editorial

COVID-19 and History of Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

María del Carmen Lacy-Niebla et al. Alfonso Buendia-Hernandez

In this study conducted in Brazil, a group of patients with a history of coronary artery bypass surgery with or without COVID-19 disease was analyzed to determine if their quality of life significantly changed after infection. They observed that patients with a history of COVID-19 infection had a worse quality of life during the four years of follow-up. No significant differences were found in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction, cerebral vascular events or thromboembolism, which is surprising and differs from what was expected.

On March 11, 2019, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 disease a pandemic. From that moment on, we believed that COVID-19 mainly affected the respiratory system and that in approximately 20% of patients, the disease was very serious with a high mortality rate. Over time we learned that COVID-19 is a multisystem inflammatory disease that is associated with cardiovascular manifestations. About half of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have cardiovascular conditions that include coronary heart disease or a history of cerebral ischemic event, and 15-20% of them have complications like myocardial ischemia, heart failure, arrhythmias and dysautonomia.^– Patients with previous cardiovascular disease may become unstable when COVID-19 occurs, mainly due to a decrease in myocardial reserve and increase in oxygen consumption and metabolic demands.

[…]

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Original Article

Prognosis Related to Reperfusion Therapy Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome in Secondary Care: Long-Term Survival Analysis in the ERICO Study

Tatiana C. Bruno et al. Márcio S. Bittencourt Alessandra V. L. Quidim Itamar S. Santos … Paulo A. Lotufo Isabela M. Benseñor Alessandra C. Goulart

Abstract

Background

Relationship between reperfusion therapy post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and mortality in secondary care is not well-known.

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of three therapeutic strategies: (1) exclusive medical therapy, (2) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and (3) coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on long-term survival of participants in the Strategy of Registry of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ERICO) study.

Methods

Survival analyses for all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality were performed according to three therapeutic strategies (exclusive medical therapy, PCI or CABG). Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with respective 95% confidence interval (95%CI) from 180 days to four years of follow-up after ACS. Models are presented as crude, age-sex adjusted and further adjusted for previous CAD, ACS subtype, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, left ventricular ejection fraction and according to the number of obstructed (≥ 50%) major coronary arteries.

Results

Among 800 participants, the lowest crude survival rates were detected among individuals who underwent CABG (all-cause and CVD). CABG was correlated to CAD (HR: 2.19 [95% CI: 1.05-4.55]). However, this risk lost significance in the full model. PCI was associated to lower probability of fatal events during four-year follow-up: all-cause [multivariate HR: 0.42 (95% CI: 0.26-0.70)], CVD [HR: 0.39 (95% CI: 0.20-0.73)] and CAD [multivariate HR: 0.24 (95% CI: 0.09-0.63)] compared to those submitted to exclusive medical therapy.

Conclusion

In the ERICO study, PCI after ACS was associated to better prognosis, particularly CAD survival.

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Original Article

Secondary Pharmacological Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease among Patients Submitted to Clinical Management, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Marcelo B. Lucca et al. Felipe C. Fuchs Adriana S. Almeida Marco V. Wainstein … Flavio D. Fuchs Sandra C. Fuchs

Abstract

Background

Secondary prevention is recommended for patients with evidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) regardless of the indication for treatment by coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Objectives

This study evaluated whether clinical treatment, PCI or CABG had an influence on adherence to the pharmacological secondary prevention in patients with stable CAD.

Methods

This cohort included patients aged ≥40 years with stable CAD confirmed by coronary angiography. The decision for medical treatment alone, or additionally with PCI or CABG, was made by the attending physicians. Adherence to the prescribed drugs recommended by the guidelines for secondary prevention (optimal pharmacological treatment), including antiplatelet agents, lipid-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, was assessed at follow-up. Differences were considered significant for p values <0.05.

Results

From 928 patients enrolled at baseline, 415 had mild CAD and 66 moderate to severe CAD. The average follow-up was 5.2 ± 1.5 years. Patients submitted to CABG were more likely to receive the optimal pharmacological treatment than those submitted to PCI or treated clinically (63.5% versus 39.1% versus 45.7% respectively, p=0.003). Baseline factors independently associated with greater probability of having a prescription of optimal treatment at follow-up were CABG [39% higher (6% – 83%, p=0.017) and diabetes [25% higher (1% – 56%), p=0.042] than their counterparts treated by other methods and participants without diabetes, respectively.

Conclusions

Patients with CAD submitted to CABG are more commonly treated with optimal pharmacological secondary prevention than patients treated by PCI or exclusively with medical therapy.

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Original Article

Physiology or Angiography-Guided Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Meta-Analysis

José Martins et al. Vera Afreixo Luís Santos Luís Fernandes Ana Briosa

Abstract

Background:

While invasive coronary angiography is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) involving the epicardial coronary vessels, coronary physiology-guided revascularization represents a contemporary gold-standard practice for the invasive management of patients with intermediate CAD. Nevertheless, the long-term results of assessing the severity of stenosis through physiology compared to the angiogram as the guide to bypass surgery – coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are still uncertain. This meta-analysis aims to assess the clinical outcomes of a physiology guided CABG compared to the angiography-guided CABG.

Objectives:

We sought to determine if outcomes differ between a physiology guided CABG compared to an angiography-guided CABG.

Methods:

We searched Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. The last date for this search was June 2020, and all of the previous studies were included. We conducted a pooled risk-ratio meta-analysis for four main outcomes: all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Heterogeneity was assessed with Cochran's Q test and quantified by the I² index.

Results:

We identified five studies that included a total of 1,114 patients. A pooled meta-analysis showed no significant difference between a physiology guided strategy and an angiography-guided strategy in MI (risk ratio [RR] = 0.72; 95%CI, 0.39–1.33; I2 = 0%; p = 0.65), TVR (RR = 1.25; 95%CI = 0.73–2.13; I2 = 0%; p = 0.52), or MACE (RR = 0.81; 95%CI = 0.62–1.07; I2 = 0%; p = 1). The physiology guided strategy has 0.63 times the risk of all-cause death compared to the angiography-guided strategy (RR = 0.63; 95%CI = 0.42–0.96; I2 = 0%; p = 0.55).

Conclusion:

This meta-analysis demonstrated a reduction in all-cause death when a physiology guided CABG strategy was used. Nevertheless, the short follow-up period, small sample size of the included studies and the non-discrimination of the causes of death can largely justify these conclusions. Studies with an extended follow-up period of observation are required to draw more robust and definitive conclusions.

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IJCS

Editorial

Lower Rate of Blood Transfusion after Heart Surgery in a Tertiary Hospital

Leonardo Secchin Canale

Special interest in surgical bleeding and methods to limit its occurrence is growing after the possibility that transfusion of blood products might be causally related to complications and negative outcomes has been raised. In the same vein, studies have been conducted to evaluate whether limiting blood product transfusions (ie, being more conservative in the indication for it) would increase the safety of transfusion or even reduce some patterns of complications. The current study is a contribution to this larger discussion.

Moraes et al. report the experience of a large tertiary center in bleeding patterns after heart operations. Four hundred and twenty-three patients (51% coronary artery bypass surgery and 33% valve operations) were evaluated for total bleeding and for the use of blood products. Perioperative bleeding was measured by weighing sponges, a validated method for a difficult enterprise. Postoperative bleeding was determined by the total chest tube output in the first 24 h after the end of the operation.

[…]

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Editorial

Myocardial Protection in Cardiac Surgery – What is the Ideal Method?

Ahmad Ali Abdouni

The study of myocardial protection has improved together with cardiac surgery, aiming to prevent intraoperative myocardial injury, which can lead to ventricular dysfunction, arrhythmias, low cardiac output and other complications, often irreversible ones.

Since the first cardiac surgeries with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in 1953 performed by Dr. Gibbon at Massachusetts General Hospital, several methods of myocardial protection have been studied, allowing more extensive cardiac surgeries to be performed, with longer aortic clamping time. In the first surgeries, hypothermia was the method used for myocardial protection, but it showed to be insufficient for longer periods of ischemia.

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IJCS

Viewpoint

Controversies in the Indications of Percutaneous Angioplasty Or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting In The Treatment Of Left Main Disease

Renato A. K. Kalil et al. Roberto T. Sant´Anna Felipe Borsu de Salles

Introduction

Left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease is a high-risk clinical situation, since this artery is responsible for the irrigation of more than two-thirds of the myocardial tissue, LMCA disease is associated with increased risk of adverse cardiac events. Traditionally, the gold standard of treatment for significant LMCA disase, understood as a stenosis> 50%, is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.^–

The technological evolution of percutaneous treatment and its safe application for LMCA disease in the PRECOMBAT study made it a viable alternative, initially restricted to patients at high surgical risk and with LMCA disease confined to the proximal portion of the trunk. Subsequent studies have suggested the equivalence of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and CABG in low and moderate complexity LMCA disease, which was reflected in the most recent guidelines ( ). Clinical registries, with real-patient outcomes,^– and long-term results from the EXCEL study, contest this notion of equivalence between therapies in terms of mortality. The study was controversial, especially regarding the definition of clinical outcomes.

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Original Article

Comparison of Secondary Prevention Status between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Coronary Artery Bypass Patients

Xia-qing Gao et al. Yanfang LI Zhi-li Jiang

Abstract

Background:

Data are scarce regarding disparities in cardiovascular risk factor management between patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and those treated with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Objective:

Whether the goal achievement rates of cardiovascular risk factors were different between PCI and CABG patients.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the data retrieved from a clinical record database of patients admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, who underwent PCI or CABG.

Results:

Compared with the CABG group, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) < 1.8 mmol/L (28.6% vs. 24.7%; p < 0.01), LDL-C < 2.07 mmol/L (43.5% vs. 39.4%; p < 0.01) and blood pressure (BP) < 140/90 mm Hg (85.6% vs. 77.7%; p < 0.01) goal achievement rates were significantly higher in the PCI group. Compared with patients ≥ 60 years old: patients < 60 years old had better BP < 140/90 mm Hg goal achievement rates (87.7% vs. 84.4%; p < 0.01) in the PCI group, and better fasting blood-glucose (FBG) < 7 mmol/L (79.4% vs.72.0%; p < 0.01) and HbA1c < 7% (79.4% vs. 70.1%; p < 0.01) goal achievement rates in the CABG group. Compared with females: males had better LDL-C < 2.07 mmol/L (24.7% vs. 28.5%; p < 0.01), FBG < 7 mmol/L (71.8% vs.75.2%; p < 0.01) and HbA1c < 7% (70.4% vs. 74.1%; p < 0.01) goal achievement rates in the PCI group.

Conclusion:

Patients in the PCI group were generally more likely than those in the CABG group to achieve LDL-C < 1.8 mmol/L and BP goals. The control of cardiovascular risk factors differed between patients ≥ 60 years old and < 60 years old. Female patients were less likely to achieve LDL-C, FBG and HbA1c goals.

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Viewpoint

Percutaneous Management of Iatrogenic Aortocoronary Dissection Complicating Diagnostic Angiography or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Liang Tang et al. Xin-qun Hu Jian-jun Tang Sheng-hua Zhou Zhen-fei Fang

Introduction

Aortocoronary dissection is an infrequent, yet potentially catastrophic complication of coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) that can lead to emergency surgical aortic repair, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) or death.^, According to the extent of aortic root involvement, Dunning et al. proposed three classes of aortocoronary dissection: Class I for focal dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva; Class II for dissection that propagated less than 40 mm to the ascending aorta; and Class III for dissection extending 40 mm or more to the ascending aorta. Management of this rare entity is still technically challenging and the optimal treatment of aortocoronary dissection complicating CAG or PCI had not been clearly established. In this article, we describe a case series of aortocoronary dissection among consecutive diagnostic CAG and PCI procedures, which were successfully treated by coronary ostial stenting.

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Review Article

On-pump versus off-pump coronary-artery bypass surgery: a meta-analysis

Ana Sofia Godinho et al. Ana Sofia Alves Alexandre José Pereira Telmo Santos Pereira

There are controversies about the possible benefits of offpump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) compared to on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (ONCABG). For a better perspective on this important issue, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, comparing the two techniques. The objective of this study was to verify which technique applied in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, OPCABG or ONCABG, provides better results through a meta-analysis of published randomized trials comparing the two techniques. We carried out a computer-based literature search in PubMed, Embase, B-on and Science Direct from March 2009 to January 2010. The studies covered were recovered according to predetermined criteria. A systematic review of randomized clinical trials was performed in order to evaluate the differences between the two revascularization techniques (OPCABG versus ONCABG) regarding mortality and morbidity. Selected studies did not include patients at high risk and long-term longitudinal evaluations. The meta-analysis focused on nine randomized clinical trials, corresponding to a total of 75,086 patients, and compared OPCABG to ONCABG. Regarding mortality, a reduction of 18% in the risk of cardiovascular mortality (OR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.70 to 0.98, p = 0.03) and 27% in the risk of stroke postoperatively (OR: 0.73, 95%CI: 0.63 to 0.85, p = 0.0001) were observed, both in favor of OPCABG. Concerning the occurrence of complications associated with the procedure, no significant differences were found between the two surgical techniques, particularly with regard to the occurrence of kidney complications (OR: 0.97, 95%CI: 0.84-1.14, p = 0, 74) and sepsis (OR 0.98, 95%CI: 0.64-1.51, p = 0.93, respectively). Off-pump CABG significantly reduces the occurrence of major cardiovascular events (mortality and CVA) compared to on-pump CABG surgery.

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Atualização

Coronary angioplasty versus CABG: review of randomized

Pedro José Negreiros de Andrade et al. Marta Maria das Chagas Medeiros Antonio Thomaz de Andrade Antonio Augusto Guimarães Lima

We carried out a review that included results of randomized trials that made a comparison between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The 25 selected trials involved 12,305 patients, 11,103 of whom were from studies in patients with multi-vessel disease and 1,212 were from studies in patients with single lesion of the left anterior descending (LAD). In the studies of multi-vessel disease patients, the PCI showed a trend towards lower early mortality (1.2% versus 2%) and lower incidence of stroke: 0.7% versus 1.65%. There was no difference in the intermediate mortality (3.8% versus 3.8%). There was a trend towards the superiority of CABG in late mortality (10.5% versus 9.6%). The difference was exclusively due to “balloon era” studies, with a trend towards an inversion in the “stent era” (9.6% versus 9.9%). In studies of single lesion of LAD, there was no significant difference in any endpoint. The aggregation of results from nine studies that assessed late mortality in diabetic patients showed a difference in favor of surgery (21.3% versus 15.9%). Two studies that evaluated main coronary artery disease did not show a significant difference in mortality at one year (3.9% versus 4.7%). The incidence of repeat revascularization was consistently higher in PCI, despite the progressive improvement in results in the stent era.

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Artigo Original

Ischemic preconditioning influence ventricular function in off-pump revascularization surgery

José Ernesto Succi et al. Luís Roberto Gerola Guilherme Menezes Succi Renata A.C.F. de Almeida … Leonardo Sérgio Rocha Novais Bruno Rocha

BACKGROUND: Ischemic preconditioning is a method that prepares and protects cells to tolerate a long period of ischemia with the least possible injury. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the influence of ischemic preconditioning over left ventricular function during off-pump myocardial revascularization. METHOD: Forty patients with clinical indication for off-pump myocardial revascularization were randomized in two groups, with or without ischemic preconditioning. Ischemic preconditioning was carried out by performing coronary occlusion for two minutes and releasing blood flow for one minute; two cycles were performed. Left ventricular contractility was evaluated through transesophageal Doppler by measuring blood flow acceleration in the descending aorta – Hemosonic 100. The acceleration measurements were performed at the start of the surgery, after heart positioning and five and ten minutes after coronary occlusion. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in left ventricular contractility between the two groups. At the beginning of the procedure flow acceleration was 9.37 ± 2.9m/s² in the preconditioning group and 12.5 ± 3.1 m/s² in no-preconditioning group (p = 0.23); after positioning of heart, it was 8.47 ± 3.3 and 8.31 ± 3.6 m/s² (p = 0.96); after five minutes – 8.7 ± 4.1 and 7.94 ± 2.9 m/s² (p = 0.80); and after ten minutes – 9.2 ± 4.5 and 7.98 ± 3.4 m/s² (p = 0.71). However, contractility evolution was different throughout time in each group. The preconditioning group maintained left ventricular contractility during the entire procedure, since the beginning (0.52), while the group without ischemic preconditioning presented reduction in left ventricular contractility (p = 0.0034). CONCLUSION: Ischemic preconditioning prevented the decrease in left ventricular contractility during off-pump myocardial revascularization surgery.

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Artigo Original

Prevalence of carotid stenosis in patients referred to myocardial revascularization surgery

Marcelo Pereira da Rosa et al. Vera Lúcia Portal

BACKGROUND: Although the carotid stenosis is the main cause of cerebrovascular accident, the prevalence of clinically significant stenosis (>50%) remains unknown in our country, mainly in individuals with a surgical indication for elective myocardial revascularization surgery. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence and degree of carotid stenosis in individuals with a surgical indication for MRS in a reference center in Cardiology in Brazil. METHODS: Transversal study of 457 consecutive patients of both genders, evaluated between May 2007 and April 2008 through ultrasonography with color Doppler of the carotid arteries, during the preoperative period of elective MRS. The statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS program, version 10.1. A p value <0.05 was considered significant. Seven patients were lost throughout the study. RESULTS: The mean age (±standard deviation) was 62.2 ± 9.4 years and 65.6% of the patients were males. The prevalence of significant carotid stenosis was 18.7%. As for the stratification of the degree of carotid stenosis: absence of stenosis was observed in 3.6%; stenosis < 50% was observed in 77.8%; stenosis between 50% and 69% was observed in 11.6%; stenosis between 70% and 99% was observed in 6.9% and arterial occlusion was observed in 0.2% of the individuals. The sensitivity and specificity regarding the carotid bruit were 34.5% and 88.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of significant carotid stenosis was high in the studied sample, which suggests this is a high-risk population for the occurrence of cerebrovascular accident.

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Artigo Original

Comparative costs between myocardial revascularization with or without extracorporeal circulation

Priscyla B. M. A. Girardi et al. Whady Hueb Célia R. S. R. Nogueira Myrthes E. Takiuti … Teryo Nakano Cibele Larrosa Garzillo Felipe da S. Paulitsch Aécio F. T. Góis Neuza H. M. Lopes Noedir A. Stolf

BACKGROUND: Surgical techniques of myocardial revascularization without the use of extracorporeal circulation (ECC) have raised hopes of attaining operative results with less systemic damage, lower occurrence of clinical complications and shorter hospital stay duration, generating expectations of lower hospital costs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hospital costs in patients submitted to myocardial revascularization with and without ECC and in those with stable multiarterial coronary disease with preserved ventricular function. METHODS: The hospital costs were based on the existing governmental reimbursement. The costs included that of ortheses and prostheses and clinical complications. The time and costs of ICU stay and hospital stay duration were considered. RESULTS: Between January 2002 and August 2006, 131 patients were randomized to surgery with ECC (SECC), whereas 128 were randomized to surgery without ECC (WECC). The basal characteristics were similar for both groups. The costs of surgical complications were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in patients from the WECC when compared to the SECC group (606.00 ± 525.00 vs. 945.90 ± 440.00), as well as ICU costs: 432.20 ± 391.70 vs. 717.70 ± 257.70, respectively. The duration of the operating room stay were 4.9 ± 1.1 h vs. 3.9 ± 1.0 h, p < 0.001; at the ICU it was 48.2 ± 17.2 h vs. 29.2 ± 26.1h) (p < 0.001), with intubation time of 9.2 ± 4.5 h vs. 6.4 ± 5.1h, p < 0.001 for patients from the group with and without ECC, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study allowed us to conclude that the myocardial revascularization surgery without extracorporeal circulation results in the decrease of operational costs and duration of the stay in each section related to the surgical treatment.

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Case Report

Multiple aneurysms of aortocoronary saphenous vein grafts with fatal rupture

Fábio R. Távora et al. Jean Jeudy Allen P. Burke

Aortocoronary saphenous vein graft (SVG) aneurysms are rare, and are usually asymptomatic and detected incidentally. Spontaneous rupture of SVG is rare and imaging data are few. We report on a 39-year old man who was admitted to the hospital with hematemesis 10 years after aortocoronary bypass surgery. CT images revealed 3 aortocoronary SVG aneurysms, but failed to detect any rupture. His subsequent death due to rupture of SVG aneurysm was documented at autopsy, illustrating the need for aggressive treatment of symptomatic coronary graft aneurysms.

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Case Report

Multi-arterial myocardial bridge: uncommon clinical and anatomical presentations

Luciano de Moura Santos et al. Edmur Carlos de Araújo Luciano Nogueira Liberato de Sousa

We report the case of a 42-year-old man with no risk factors for coronary artery disease admitted with atypical chest pain. The electrocardiogram performed after intravenous injection of nitrate revealed ST-segment elevation in leads V1 to V4. The coronary angiography showed myocardial bridges in the three coronary arteries, besides an unusual length of the left anterior descending artery (80 mm). The patient progressed well following the discontinuation of nitrate use and introduction of beta-blockers and calcium channel antagonists.

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Case Report

Coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with anomalous circumflex artery

Walter J. Gomes et al. Rodrigo P. Paez Francisco A. Alves

The anomalous origin of the circumflex artery (Cx) is uncommon and presents course variations that might make the coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) difficult. Two patients presenting unstable angina were submitted to coronary angiography that disclosed tri-vessel disease and presence of Cx with an anomalous origin and retroaortic course with severe stenosis. Both patients underwent CABG with use of bilateral internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts. Therefore, CABG with bilateral ITA use is feasible in cases of an anomalous origin of the Cx artery. However, this finding may constitute an additional technical setback.

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