Coronary arteriovenous fistulas: Collective review and management of six new cases—changing etiology, presentation, and treatment strategy

Abstract We considered it worthwhile to review the literature of the last decade (1985–1995) to answer the question whether the etiology and the clinical picture of coronary arteriovenous fistulas (CAVFs) have changed. Furthermore, new therapeutic modalities such as percutaneous transcatheter embolization have been developed. We tried to define the place of these techniques in the therapeutic arena. Clinical presentation and management of six patients with eight congenital CAVFs and 76 subjects with 96 congenital and acquired CAVFs taken from a review of the recent literature are presented. Sixty‐three review subjects (78%) were treated medically, with one fatal case. Ligation of the fistula was achieved by surgical techniques in 10% of review subjects, while percutaneous transcatheter embolization (PTE) was performed in nine patients (12%). Percutaneous transcatheter embolization techniques are being increasingly used in the treatment of CAVFs. The etiology of CAVFs has a tendency to show alterations toward the acquired pathogenesis. In 64% of the review subjects the fistula was congenital in origin, and in 36% it had an acquired cause. Among the patients of the current review, the clinical presentations were 55% asymptomatic, 34% chest pain (anginal or atypical), and 13% congestive heart failure. The CAVFs of our six patients are all congenital in origin. In the current review, the clinical presentation showed a trend toward increasing chest complaints (34%) compared with the review (10%) published in the mid 1970s. This may be due to a higher mean age, and hence increased concurrent coronary artery disease due to aging compared with the review population of two decades ago.