Single Coronary Artery Anomaly: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Abstract

Introduction: Single coronary artery is a rare anomaly, which is usually associated with other cardiac congenital abnormalities.

Case report: A 56-year-old female presented with unstable angina. The patient reported complaints of typical chest pain on exertion few months prior to presentation, which progressed to become at rest. The pain was associated palpitations and dizziness. Past medical history was significant for hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Vital signs were stable. Physical examination was non-remarkable. Electrocardiogram showed normal sinus rhythm, with intermittent episodes of sinus bradycardia, and non-specific T-wave changes. Trans-thoracic echocardiogram showed normal left ventricular function and no segmental wall-motion abnormalities. Selective coronary angiography showed a normal left main coronary artery arising from left coronary cusp. The left main branched to a normal left anterior descending artery and to the left circumflex artery; a large vessel which supplied also the territory of the right coronary artery (RCA) through its terminal extension. Aortography showed absence of RCA with no other vessels arising from the right or non-coronary cusps. The patient was managed conservatively and discharged home with resolution of symptoms.

Conclusions: We report a rare case of isolated single coronary artery with absent RCA. The patient presented with unstable angina, and was managed conservatively. Cardiologists should be aware of this rare condition, which carries a potential risk of sudden cardiac death.

Keywords: Absent right coronary artery; Congenital heart disease; Single coronary artery anomaly.

Fig. 1

a Coronary angiography showing left circumflex artery supplying RCA region. b Aortography showing absent RCA. RCA right coronary artery