Aortic distensibility associates with increased ascending thoracic aorta diameter and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with coronary artery ectasia.

Coronary artery ectasia is usually linked to coronary atherosclerosis. Its primary defect is a destruction of vascular media, which leads to coronary dilatation. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether ascending aorta present anatomical and functional wall changes in patients with coronary ectasia compared with patients without ectasia. Forty patients with known coronary ectasia (group A) underwent echocardiography in order to study aortic lumen diameter and wall properties (distensibility and stiffness index). Twenty-five patients with coronary artery disease (group B) and 40 individuals with normal coronary arteries (group C) served as control groups. Both ascending aorta diameter and ascending aorta index were significantly increased in group A compared with groups B and C (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, in patients with ectatic coronary arteries ascending aorta index, systolic blood pressure and diastolic dysfunction independently associate with aortic distensibility. In patients with coronary artery ectasia, ascending aortic diameter could be enlarged while aortic stiffness is related to diastolic dysfunction. We suggest that coronary ectasia is not an isolated lesion but a reflection of a generalized vascular media defect, and should not be recognized as a benign entity.