Left Coronary Artery to Pulmonary Trunk Fistula: Two Case Reports With Literature Review

Abstract

Coronary artery fistulas (CAFs) are abnormal communication between coronary arteries and the pulmonary trunk or with adjacent heart structures. Coronary pulmonary artery fistulas (CPAFs) can be congenital or acquired. Mostly, CAFs are found as incidental findings on angiographic evaluation. The management of CPAFs varies from case to case depending on size, anatomical location, patient's clinical presentation, and presence of coronary steal phenomenon. We present two cases of CPAFs; one of them had coronary steal phenomena at a young age with no past medical history of coronary artery disease, and the patient underwent transcatheter coil embolization to close the fistula. In other cases, a fistulous connection between the left anterior descending (LAD) and the pulmonary trunk was found incidentally on computed tomography (CT) of the heart and based on a small-sized fistula and symptomatic improvement, the patient was discharged with conservative management. CPAFs are rare cardiac anomalies but can give rise to severe hemodynamic complications, so this should be a part of the initial differential diagnosis if the patient does not have significant coronary artery disease. Percutaneous closure or surgical correction is indicated if the patients are symptomatic or have secondary complications.