Background: Coronary arteriovenous malformation is a rare congenital disease consisting mainly in a direct communication between a coronary artery and any one of the four cardiac chambers, coronary sinus, pulmonary arteries or veins. This disease can lead to various cardiovascular events, their severity depending on the degree of the malformation.
Case report: We present the case of a 56-year-old male patient, who was admitted to our institution with dyspnea, palpitation and chest pain, having a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and an abnormal electrocardiogram. Physical examination did not reveal any alterations and the cardiac enzymes were in normal ranges. Cardiac computed tomography was performed before any other invasive studies, with a 64-row scanner (Somatom Sensation multislice 64 equipment, Siemens) after intravenous administration of non-ionic contrast material. CT scan revealed a large (2–2.5 mm) coronary fistula originating from the LAD to the main pulmonary artery, and multiple significant atherosclerotic coronary lesions. Coronary angiography confirmed the arteriovenous malformation between LAD and pulmonary artery, associated with three vascular coronary artery disease.
Conclusions: Cardiac computed tomography angiography can help for a non-invasive diagnosis of the coronary artery malformations, in the same time revealing anatomic details which can be particulary useful for choosing the appropriate management strategy (surgical planning, interventional treatment or optimum medical treatment).