Multi-vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection in a patient with aortic dissection: a case report

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome that is often misdiagnosed. CASE SUMMARY: We describe a case of multi-vessel SCAD in a 73-year-old patient with no evidence of fibromuscular dysplasia that is presented with Type A aortic dissection after undergoing an ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement with stent placement in the abdominal aorta. The use of percutaneous coronary intervention with cutting balloons and drug-eluting stent implantation helped wean the patient off extracorporeal membrane oxygenation successfully. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of multi-vessel SCAD presenting concomitantly with aortic dissection. More research is needed to help understand the pathophysiology of the two conditions as well as possible links between them.