Coronary artery ectasia (CAE), a rare clinical condition, is defined as dilatation of the coronary artery 1.5 times greater than that of an adjacent normal segment.¹ It usually accompanies coronary artery disease (CAD). The clinical significance of CAE is not well defined and conflicting results have been reported.^1–3 Our objective in this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of CAE and its prognosis.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the coronary angiograms of 8812 patients between February 2001 and September 2004 at Koşuyolu Heart and Research Centre and Medical Park Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. CAE was detected in 122 (1.38%) patients, 72 (59%) of whom had coexisting significant CAD defined as > 70% diameter stenosis of major coronary arteries or ⩾ 40% stenosis of the left main stem (group A). Twenty nine patients (23.7%) had isolated CAE and 21 (17.2%) patients had accompanying non-significant CAD; together they were categorised as group B. Group C comprised 152 randomly chosen patients with significant CAD but without ectasia, matched for sex and age. The term ectasia was applied when most or all of the vessel was involved. The term aneurysm was applied in case of localised dilatation.³ Coronary aneurysms were detected in 53 (0.6%) patients and they were not included in the CAE groups. Patients with valve disease, cardiomyopathy, and previous coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention were excluded from the study. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure > 140/90 mm Hg on at least two consecutive measurements or …