Coronary artery fistulas (CAF) are rare anomalies that pose a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Most of them originate from the right coronary artery and are congenital. They are often associated with coronary aneurysms. We report the case of a 38-year-old Black man who presented with exertion dyspnea. Transthoracic echocardiography found what was thought to be a bi-atrial hydatid cyst, alongside a right atrial shunt. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed a cystic lesion hypointense on T1 and T2 sequences, located next to the left atrium as well as an aneurysmal circumflex artery shunting in the right atrium. Coronary angiography and computed tomography angiography confirmed the bilobed circumflex saccular aneurysm and CAF. The patient underwent a successful surgery, which consisted of closure of the fistula using two patches. He was discharged after an uneventful postoperative course. Our case report illustrates the diagnostic difficulty of CAF and the importance of multimodal imaging.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations鈥揷itations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.