Coronary vascular patterns during occlusion arteriography.

The arteriograms from 18 studies in which the catheter accidentally occluded the right coronary artery were analyzed and compared with successful studies in 25 patients with normal coronary arteries and 20 patients with coronary artery stenosis. The occlusion arteriograms showed distinct early filling of the anterior cardiac veins and occasionally retrograde filling of the left circumflex artery. Although there were no serious complications due to occlusion arteriography in our patients, the potential for producing ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest must be borne in mind. Angiographers should be aware of these filling patterns in order to recognize them as artifacts of the technique and not as manifestations of disease.