Successful surgical treatment of rupture of coronary arteriovenous fistula with unconsciousness after chest and back pain.

Abstract

A 65 year-old woman was admitted to our hospital, because of unconsciousness after chest and back pain. Echocardiography showed pericardial effusion. She suffered from pre-shock due to cardiac tamponade. Although a cause of cardiac tamponade was unclear, we performed emergency surgical treatment without coronary angiography. In operation, we found a rupture of coronary arteriovenous fistula and repaired it. The patient recovered from the surgery uneventfully. Coronary artery fistula is an abnormal communication between a coronary artery and a cardiac chamber or major vessel. It is the most common congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries. Many patients with these anomalies remain asymptomatic, but some patients develop symptoms of congestive heart failure, infective endocarditis, myocardial ischemia, arrhythmia, or rupture of an aneurismal fistula. Usually, the dilatation of fistula is common, and although 19% of this may become aneurysmal, the rupture of the aneurysm is very rare. We report a case of ruptured coronary arteriovenous fistula who underwent successful emergent surgery.