[Anomalous origin of the right coronary from the left sinus of Valsalva. A possible cause of juvenile sudden death].

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva is a rare congenital anomaly classified as a "minor" anomaly of no clinical importance. Recently, manifestations of myocardial ischemia (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, nonfatal ventricular fibrillation, sudden death) have been described in patients with this anomaly in the absence of atherosclerosis or other. Sudden death occurs frequently in symptomatic patients and rarely in asymptomatic patients (sudden unexpected death). In this study we report two cases of juvenile sudden death observed in asymptomatic patients with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva. In both cases the sudden death was exertion-related. In case 1 the coronary anomaly was the cause of death, since it was the only significant anatomic abnormality at necropsy; the microscopic findings revealed ischemic lesions only in the myocardium supplied by the anomalous right coronary artery. In case 2 the coronary anomaly was connected to other cardiac and non cardiac diseases (lymphocytic active myocarditis, chronic portitis, encephalitis, medullary adrenalitis). Since these morphologic lesions were extremely slight and there was no adrenal catecholamine damage in the myocardium, we consider negligible their possible role in determining death, which in this case was induced by the congenital coronary anomaly. The cardiac microscopic findings, also in this case, revealed ischemic lesions in the myocardium supplied by the anomalous right coronary artery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)