Case report of association of congenital coronary fistulae with coronary atherosclerosis.

Abstract

The authors report the clinical case of a 70 year old male with a congenital plexiform fistula between a branch of the left coronary artery and the pulmonary artery, associated with the atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary arteries, both surgically treated by ligature of the fistula and aorto-coronary grafts. The patient remained asymptomatic up to the age of 65 when both cardiac ischemia and infarction ocurred, probably coincidental with the development of the coronary arterial obstruction. From data gathered from medical literature, the authors discuss the association between coronary congenital anomalies (fistulae and ectopies) with atherosclerotic obstruction of the coronary arteries. Coronary arterial atherosclerosis affects patients with congenital fistulae of the coronary arteries in the same way as in normal humans.