Objective: To estimate the frequency of anomalous coronary origin with angiography in the Chinese population and evaluate the correlation between anomalous coronary origin and development of coronary atherosclerotic stenosis.
Methods: All of the patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography from January 2001 to June 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Those with anomalous origin of the coronary arteries were selected for further assessment and any significant stenosis in one or more coronary arteries or in a major branch was recorded.
Results: Among the 4094 patients, 32 (0.78%) had anomalies of coronary origin. Right coronary artery was the most common anomalous vessel, being involved in 21 (65.6%) patients. It originated from the left sinus of Valsalva in 19 and from the non-coronary aortic sinus in 2 patients. Anomalous left circumflex artery was the second most common anomaly, being seen in 5 (15.6%) patients. Anomalous left main coronary artery from the right sinus of Valsalva and anomalous left coronary artery from pulmonary artery were seen in 3 patients, respectively. Significant lesions in the anomalous arteries were seen in only 5 (15.6%) patients, much less than the overall incidence of coronary artery lesion in patients with coronary anomalies in this series (34.3%). Moreover, no patient was found that the anomalous vessel was the only one involved in coronary atherosclerotic stenosis.
Conclusions: The incidence of anomalous coronary origin in Chinese population is almost as same as in other races and an anomalous right coronary artery is the most common anomaly. The anomalous coronary artery does not appear to be of any increased risk for development of coronary atherosclerotic stenosis.