Coronary Artery Dominance and Cardiovascular Pathologies in Patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve.

BACKGROUND

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect and is associated with a number of cardiac pathologies including coarctation of the aorta (CoA), aortic dilation, aortic stenosis, and premature coronary artery disease (CAD). Furthermore, BAV has been associated with left dominant coronary artery anatomy but there is still much debate regarding this association. To date, no study has investigated the association between coronary artery dominance and cardiac pathologies in patients with BAV.

METHODS

A total of 45 patients with BAV who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and/or cardiac catheterization at a single center were included. Coronary artery dominance, presence of CAD, CoA, and aortic dilation was determined from coronary CTA and/or cardiac catheterization reports. Incidence of aortic valve stenosis and aortic valve regurgitation was determined from echo reports.

RESULTS

Of the 45 patients with BAV, 80% (36) had right dominant coronary artery circulations. Patients with BAV with left dominant circulations had a significantly (p = 0.04) higher incidence of CoA compared to patients with right dominant circulations (44% vs. 14%). There was no significant difference when comparing the incidences of aortic dilation, aortic valve stenosis, aortic valve regurgitation and CAD in right and left dominant patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study found a predominance of right dominant coronary artery circulation in patients with BAV, similar to the general population. Interestingly, left dominance was significantly associated with CoA in patients with BAV. This observation highlights the importance of further studies regarding how coronary artery dominance can be associated with other cardiovascular pathologies in patients with BAV.