prevalence and characteristics of coronary artery anomalies (caas) in 3016 symptomatic adult participants undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography (ccta): a single-center retrospective study in iran

Introduction: coronary artery anomalies (caas) are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, including sudden cardiac death, especially in young people. a different prevalence has been reported based on the used diagnostic modality. this study aimed to determine the prevalence and type of these anomalies using coronary computed tomography angiography (ccta). methods: this single-center retrospective study was performed on 3016 consecutive cases who underwent ccta for cardiac symptoms from march 2015 to august 2020 and the prevalence and types of caas were evaluated. results: 38 cases (overall prevalence of 1.26%) including 21 men (55.3%) and 17 women (44.7%) were retrospectively diagnosed with caas. the most common anomalies were the anomalous origin of lcx from the right coronary sinus (11 cases, 28.9%), anomalous origin of rca from the left coronary sinus (11 cases, 28.9%), and anomalous origin of lm from the right coronary sinus (6 cases, 15.8%). there was no difference in the prevalence of caas in terms of patient’s gender (p value=0.16) and age (p value=0.61). conclusion: the prevalence of caas among patients who underwent ccta was 1.26%. the most common anomalies observed were the anomalous origin of the lcx arising from the right coronary sinus, the anomalous origin of the rca arising from the left coronary sinus, and the anomalous origin of the lm arising from the right coronary sinus. these findings emphasize the importance of ccta in detecting and characterizing coronary artery anomalies, which may have clinical implications for patient management and treatment decisions.