Middle-Aged Man With Unstable Angina and an Inaccessible Right Coronary Artery

Acute myocardial ischemia and infarction from retrograde dissection of the aortic root into the coronary ostia is a potentially fatal condition. Unrecognized type A aortic dissection at the time of angiography for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) carries a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has emerged as one of the instrumental tools in the diagnosis of retrograde coronary involvement from type A aortic dissections. We present a case of ACS secondary to retrograde aortic dissection extending into the right coronary artery (RCA) suspected during coronary angiography and confirmed by CCTA. The patient was managed surgically with aortic root replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting.