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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Coronary Artery Dissection
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Coronary Artery Dissection
by Susan__0__0, Apr 01, 1998 12:00AM
I am 40 years old. A little over a year ago, I experienced a spontaneous dissection of my right coronary artery. There were no special circumstances, i.e., post pregnancy, artery disease, etc. After many specialist visits and tests, general concensus is that the Drs. don't know why it happened and can't tell me if it will happen again. There appears to be very little information available to me. I have been tested for collagen vascular diseases, results were negative. Tested also for autoimmune diseases, results also negative. I have resumed my pre=episode lifestyle which includes playing tennis 2 - 3 times per week and running around after my kids (ages 7 & 11). I am frightened that this will happen again since I had no warning until the heart attack that anything was wrong. The only information I have been given by my cardiologists is that if you survive the initial episode, then your chances of never having problems again is very high. I am simply looking for more information on the subject. Any ideas?
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Dear Susan,
Coronary dissection is a relatively rare event. There are numerous causes. High blood pressure, the post-pregnancy state, cocaine use, Marfan’s syndrome and other rarer connective tissue disorders, and blunt chest trauma are some of the considerations. Sometimes, no obvious cause can be identified. Coronary artery dissection is a well-known cause of sudden cardiac death in young adults. In people that survive coronary dissection, the obvious question is whether it will occur again. Certainly, if an underlying cause is present, it would need to be treated. If there is in fact no identifiable precipitant, the chances of a recurrence are considered to be slim. However, the number of patients that fall into this category is small, so it is difficult to say anything too definitive. Some cardiologists do recommend limiting extreme degrees of exertion and some also prescribe medicines to decrease the heart’s workload (medicines such as beta blockers).
Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific diagnoses and treatments can only be made by your doctor. If you would like to be seen by a heart specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE for an appointment.
