Chronic myocardial damage in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension: a clinical case

Abstract

Chronic myocardial injury, determined by a constantly elevated cardiac troponin (cTn) value, may occur in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), indicating the severity of the disease and associated with an adverse prognosis. Increasing of cTn among patients with PAH was registered prior to 2018, but after the Fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction (2018) was released the understanding of this phenomenon has been changed. One of the causes of chronic myocardial injury in patients with PAH is the compression of coronary arteries. Left main coronary artery (LMCA) compression is an uncommon and probably underestimated cause for angina-like chest pain and ventricular dysfunction in patients with severe pulmonary artery hypertension. LMCA compression by an enlarged pulmonary artery trunk has been associated with angina, but appropriate diagnostic and treatment approaches remain poorly defined. This is a case report on a woman with idiopathic PAH and compression of the LMCA by an enlarged pulmonary artery. The diagnosis of LMCA stenosis was confirmed by multi-slice computed tomography and coronary angiography. Biomarkers such as cTn and brain natriuretic peptide have also been identified as criteria of optimal treatment. Percutaneous coronary intervention in conjunction with PAH-specific therapy appears to be a feasible, safe, and effective treatment option for patients with extrinsic compression of the LMCA from pulmonary artery enlargement

Keywords

• chronic myocardial injury
• brain natriuretic peptide
• cardiac troponin
• pulmonary arterial hypertension
• compression of the left main coronary artery
• pulmonary artery trunk
• percutaneous coronary intervention
• pulmonary arterial hypertension-specific therapy