Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery: A Review

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death worldwide. Even though coronary heart disease is responsible for the majority of deaths associated with the heart, there are many other less prevalent, but just as deadly, heart conditions [1]. Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare heart anomaly [2-12]. ALCAPA is also known as Bland-White-Garland syndrome [2,3,8,10]. There are two types of ALCAPA: the infant-type and the adult-type.”2(p.1010) Patients who have an inefficient intercoronary anastomoses with left coronary artery (LCA) arising from the pulmonary artery (PA) have infant-type ALCAPA. The adult-type have extensive intercoronary systems supplying the left coronary system with the LCA arising from the PA [ 2-3,8,10]. Both types have the LCA originating in the PA where oxygen-poor blood is located [ 2-3,8,10]. Normally, the LCA originates in the aorta where there is oxygen enriched blood is present [ 2-3,8,10]. Because of this defect, the heart is not getting sufficient oxygen leading to the cardiac tissue to die causing the patient to have a heart attack [ 2-3,8,10]. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of medical imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of this rare and fatal medical disorder. Prevalence