Left main stem coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of sudden death. This occurred in a previously asymptomatic 42-year-old white woman; clinical, arteriographic, and necropsy findings are described. Extrathoracic total body perfusion with isolated catheter perfusion of the dissected coronary artery using cold cardioplegic solution may be effective preoperative treatmemt.

Pentafurcation of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is a rare finding. In anatomical studies the frequency of LMCA pentafurcation ranges from 1% to 3.4% [1]. However, to the best of our knowledge it has not been reported in angiographic studies. We describe a clinical case of a patient with such an unusual angiographic feature. A 67-year-old male patient with a history of arterial hypertensi...

When coronary arteriography was developed in the early 1960s, the very high risk associated with obstructive left main coronary artery disease became evident; this risk was related to the large volume of myocardium supplied by this vessel. Among patients receiving the medical therapy available at the time, the 5-year mortality approached 60%, and the survivors usually had severe symptoms, inclu...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . doi:10.1093/ejechocard/jer072 Online publish-ahead-...

background: the presence of significant carotid stenosis in coronary artery bypass grafting (cabg) patients increases the risk of either transient ischemic attack or stroke. however, there is a dearth of data on the risk for patients with unilateral total occlusion of the carotid artery. we herein report our results of cardiac surgery in patients with unilateral total occlusion of the carotid a...

BACKGROUND Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery in patients with left main stem (LMS) disease remains controversial. This meta-analysis compares early outcomes of OPCAB surgery with on-pump coronary artery bypass (ONCAB) surgery in patients with significant LMS disease, focusing on the outcomes stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). METHODS This is a meta-analysis of non-rando...