Coronary Artery Ectasia in Elective Coronary Angiography : Predictors, Outcomes and Management

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is the diffuse dilatation of coronary artery. It is defined as a dilatation with a diameter of 1.5 times the adjacent normal coronary artery . Its prevalence ranges from 1.2%-4.9% with male to female ratio of 3:1 .

Coronary ectasia likely represents an exaggerated form of expansive vascular remodelling (i.e. excessive expansive remodelling) in response to atherosclerotic plaque growth .

CAE is more common in males. Hypertension is a risk Factor. Interestingly, patients with DM have low incidence of CAE. This may be due to down regulation of MMP with negative remodelling in response to atherosclerosis . Smoking appears to be more common in patients with CAE than in those with coronary artery disease (CAD).

The angiographic classification for CAE (described by Markis et al.) categorizes the severity based on the extent of coronary arterial involvement: Type 1: Diffuse ectasia of 2-3 arteries; Type 2: Diffuse ectasia in one artery and localized in another; Type 3: Diffuse single arterial ectasia; Type 4: Localized or segmental ectasia .

Stable angina is the most common presentation in patients with CAE . Patients with CAE without stenosis had positive results during treadmill exercise tests. ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) , non-ST elevation MI can occur from altered blood flow by distal embolization or occlusion of ectatic segment with thrombus.

Medical management for CAE is a controversial area as there is lack of evidence based medicine, especially the role of antiplatelet versus anticoagulant agents. Aspirin was suggested in all patients because of coexistence of CAE with obstructive coronary lesions in the great majority of patients and the observed incidence of myocardial infarction, even in patients with isolated coronary ectasia .The role of dual anti platelet therapy has not been evaluated in prospective randomized studies. Based on the significant flow disturbances within the ectatic segments, chronic anticoagulation with warfarin as main therapy was suggested