Korean J Leg Med.
2011 Nov;35(2):174-178.
Sudden Death Related to Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery Fistula Draining to the Left Ventricle: A Case Report with Review of the Literature
- Affiliations
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- 1Division of Forensic Medicine, National Forensic Service, Seoul, Korea. damian21@korea.kr
Abstract
- Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare congenital malformation, comprising less than 1% of all congenital heart disease. Most fistulas drain into the right-sided heart chambers or pulmonary artery, and termination in left heart chambers is an uncommon finding. Clinical presentation mainly depends on the severity of the left-to-right shunt, and adult patients usually do not develop any symptom. There are few case reports relating CAF manifested as an exceptional form of sudden unexpected death. We experienced a case of a 62-year-old male with a single CAF arising from left main coronary artery which drains into the left ventricle, and reported with review of the related articles.