Right coronary artery arising from the main pulmonary artery: evaluation with 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and multislice computed tomography

Abstract

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Fig. 1 Color-flow Doppler echocardiography (short-axis view) shows an abnormal retrograde blood flow (chiefly in the diastolic phase) into the main pulmonary artery. AO = aorta; LA = left atrium; PA = pulmonary artery; RA = right atrium; RCA = right coronary artery Real-time motion image is available at www.texasheart.org/journal.

Fig. 2 Three-dimensional, 64-multislice computed tomographic volume-rendering reformation displays the left coronary artery (LCA) arising from the ascending aorta (AO), and the dilated and tortuous left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) coronary arteries.

Fig. 3 Three-dimensional computed tomographic volume-rendered reformation shows enlarged right coronary artery's origin from pulmonary trunk and its course in front of the aorta. AO = aorta; PA = pulmonary artery; RCA = right coronary artery

Fig. 4 Three-dimensional computed tomographic volume-rendered reformation displays a mesh of thin collateral blood vessels between the right and left coronary arteries.

Fig. 5 Curved multiplanar computed tomographic reconstruction shows the right coronary artery (RCA) arising from the pulmonary artery (PA). The RCA was markedly denser than the pulmonary artery and was approximately as dense as the aorta (AO).