Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery Presenting with Atypical Chest Pain in an Adult: A Case Report

Abstract

The anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly. The usual clinical course is severe left-sided heart failure and mitral valve insufficiency presenting during the first months of life. However, in some cases, the collateral blood supply from the right coronary artery is sufficient and symptoms may be subtle or even absent. We describe a 49-year-old woman presenting with atypical chest pain during physical exertion. The exercise tolerance test and then coronary angiography by indication revealed an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery. The patient underwent surgical treatment, whereby a pulmonary artery tube graft from the aorta to the left coronary artery was created and the main pulmonary artery was reconstructed with a bovine pericardial patch. The patient was discharged from the hospital without any chest pain and dyspnea and was symptom free during a follow-up period of 18 months. Clinicians should consider ALCAPA as a differential diagnosis in adults with presentations similar to exercise-related asthma.