Case report
Sudden Death Related to an Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2007.09.052Get rights and content

Nonatherosclerotic anomalies of the coronary arteries are not rare. They account for a third of sudden cardiac deaths in young patients. We report a case of resuscitated cardiac arrest due to an abnormal origin of the right coronary artery. Subsequently, coronary bypass grafting was carried out successfully. After resuscitated sudden death, there is no consensus on the diagnosis or therapeutic management of patients with abnormal coronary arteries.

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Comment

Half of SCD of young patients are related to structural disease. One third of these cases are nonatherosclerotic anomalies of coronary arteries [2, 3]. The incidence of such anomalies, seen on angiography, is approximately 0.8% to 1% in retrospective studies [4]. A single coronary artery (less than 0.05%), left anterior descending coronary artery or left main coronary artery originating in the right sinus of Valsalva (5% and 25%, respectively), and the RCA originating in the left sinus of

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