Anomalous origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery. Echocardiographic diagnosis
AbstractThe experience with echocardiographic diagnosis of five cases of Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA) is reviewed. Material and Methods. all cases with a diagnosis of ALCAPA during a 10-year period were included. Results. two age groups were clearly identified: infants and older patients. In the former, the echocardiographic findings included a dilated left ventricle with low ejection fraction (19% and 26%), mitral regurgitation, dilated right coronary artery and difficulties in identifying the origin of the left coronary artery. An 11-year-old asymptomatic boy, a 17-year-old young woman with dyspnea on effort and a 55-year-old woman with angina formed the older group. In these three cases, an abnormal upward flow was detected within the ventricular septum related to the collaterals and the inverse flow of the anterior descending artery. A reverse flow within the origin of the left coronary artery, probably related to an origin in the pulmonary artery, was observed. In all five cases...