Aloha! CardioNerds (Amit Goyal & Karan Desai) join University of Hawaii cardiology fellows (Isaac Mizrahi, Nath Limpruttidham, Nishant Trivedi, and Shana Greif) for some shaved iced on the Big Island's north shore! They discuss a fascinating case of a patient presenting with decompensated heart failure found to have a giant coronary aneurysm. Program director Dr. Dipanjan Banerjee provides the E-CPR as well as a message for applicants. Episode notes were developed by Johns Hopkins internal medicine resident Tommy Das with mentorship from University of Maryland cardiology fellow Karan Desai.
Jump to: Patient summary - Case media - Case teaching - References
Episode graphic by Dr. Carine Hamo
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Patient Summary
A man in his early 60s with history of hypertension, peripheral arterial disease, atrial fibrillation, and AAA s/p repair presented with subacute fatigue, palpitations, shortness of breath, and lower extremity edema. On exam he was warm and well perfused, though hypotensive, tachycardic with an irregular rhythm, and had an elevated JVP. ECG showed AF with RVR without evidence of acute MI, and troponin was negative. TTE revealed a reduced LVEF and WMA in the inferolateral walls with akinesis of the basal mid septum; additionally, two large extracardiac structures were noted, one with heterogenous echotexture in the AV groove, and a second with an echolucent interior adjacent to the RA.
The patient underwent coronary angiography, showing a dilated and calcified proximal LAD with high grade stenosis adjacent to the first septal perforator, a ectatic LCX that supplied left to right collaterals, and a giant RCA aneurysm with TIMI 0 flow distally. CCTA confirmed these findings, showing thrombosed aneurysms of the LAD, LCX, and RCA. Interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery both evaluated the patient's case, and determined that he was not a candidate for intervention. He was ultimately diuresed to euvolemia with significant improvement in symptoms, and plans to follow-up as an outpatient for heart transplant evaluation.
Case Media
ABCDClick to Enlarge
A. CXRB. ECG: atrial fibrillation with RVR, left axis deviation, poor r wave progressionC. Wide complex tachycardia D. CT chest demonstrating giant aneurysm
TTE
Coronary Angiography
Episode Schematics & Teaching
The CardioNerds 5! – 5 major takeaways from the #CNCR case
1) This case featured a patient with a giant coronary aneurysm – how are coronary artery aneurysms defined and classified?
Coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are defined as a focal dilation of a coronary segment at least 1.5x the adjacent normal segment. Contrast this with coronary artery ectasia, which refers to a diffuse, as opposed to focal, coronary dilation. CAA morphology can be classified as either saccular (transverse > longitudinal diameter) or fusiform (transverse < longitudinal diameter). Giant CAA's are >20mm in diameter. Aortocoronary saphenous vein graft aneurysms have distinct characteristics and natural history compared to native coronary aneurysms. These aneurysms tend to present late (e.g., > 10 years following CABG) and tend to be larger than native CAA. IVUS can help differentiate between a true aneurysm with preserved integrity of all 3 vessel layers (intima, media, and adventitia) and a pseudoaneurysm with loss of wall integrity and damage to the adventitia.
2) Now that we have the language to define and classify coronary artery aneurysms, what are some causes these lesions?
Atherosclerosis: lipid deposition, focal calcification, and fibrosis can weaken the vessel wall and predispose to subsequent coronary artery dilation. Up to 50% of CAAs are linked to arteriosclerosis.