Successful thrombolytic therapy in a patient with congenital corrected transposition of the great arteries

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this report is to emphasize the importance of thrombolytic therapy in selected patients, such as those with congenital heart defects in whom a coronary artery anomaly can be observed. Case report. We present here a 63 year-old female patient who was admitted to our emergency department with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and a history of a congenital heart defect. We treated the patient successfully with thrombolytic therapy instead of primary percutaneous intervention, because of the suspicion of a coronary artery anomaly. On the following day, we performed coronary angiography on the patient, which revealed the anomalous origin of the coronary arteries, with the left and right coronary arteries originating from the right sinus of Valsalva and the circumflex artery originating from the left sinus of Valsalva. This anomaly in this patient group is described for the first time. Conclusion. Coronary artery anomaly may be observed in patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, and in the case of requiring emergency reperfusion, thrombolytic treatment can be an alternative strategy in this patient group.