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Diffuse Coronary Artery Disease and Dystrophic Calcification of the Radial Artery— Is There an Association?
Author(s) -
Badmanaban Balaji,
Sachithanandan Anand,
Mole Damian J.,
Graham Alastair N.J.,
Sarsam Mazin A.I.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8191.2006.00181.x
Subject(s) - medicine , radial artery , coronary artery disease , calcification , cardiology , revascularization , forearm , artery , coronary arteries , radiology , surgery , myocardial infarction
Arterial revascularization is an attractive surgical option in the management of coronary artery disease (CAD). In the recent years, the radial artery (RA) has enjoyed resurgence in popularity as the preferred arterial conduit of choice after the internal mammary artery. Despite renewed interest in RA conduits, little is known of the prevalence of preexisting disease in this vessel, and in particular which patient subgroups are most affected, hence implications for long‐term graft patency remain uncertain. We present our experience of three patients with diffuse CAD, found to have dystrophic calcification of their radial arteries intraoperatively. In all cases, the radial arteries were used, and the patients remain well and symptom‐free. Soft tissue X‐rays of the contra lateral forearm taken postoperatively demonstrated obvious calcification in the radial arteries in all patients. Diffuse CAD may reflect calcific disease in the RA. Suitability of a calcified RA as a conduit for CABG depends on long‐term patency, which requires further evaluation.