TREATMENT OF SPONTANEOUS CORONARY-ARTERY DISSECTION - REPORT OF 3 CASES

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is an extremely rare cause of m yocardial infarction, It has been reported mainly in young women durin g or after pregnancy, The prognosis and treatment of coronary dissecti on are not clear. We report three cases of spontaneous coronary artery dissection in young women. One of them was pregnant and one was 2 wee ks after delivery, The dissection involved the left anterior descendin g artery (LAD) in two cases and the left main coronary artery in one c ase, There was no evidence of atherosclerosis on angiography or intrac oronary ultrasound in any of the patients, Two of the women were treat ed by stent implantation with excellent results, This is the first kno wn report of successful coronary stenting of spontaneous coronary arte ry dissection, The pregnant woman was not a candidate for stent implan tation and underwent implantation of the left internal mammary to the LAD without cardiopulmonary bypass, She completed her pregnancy uneven tfully. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.