Acute Coronary Artery Obstruction Following Surgical Repair of Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract Objectives Acute coronary artery obstruction is a rare complication of congenital heart disease surgery but imposes a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Prior case series have described episodes in specific congenital heart lesions or surgical repairs, but have not examined the complication in all-comers to congenital heart surgery. We hypothesize that shorter time from a clinically recognized post-operative sentinel event suggestive of coronary ischemia to diagnosis of coronary obstruction is associated with improved clinical outcomes. Methods Single center retrospective review of patients diagnosed with acute coronary artery obstruction by angiography following surgical repair of congenital heart disease between January 2000 and June 2016. Results 34 patients were identified. The most common procedures associated with coronary artery obstruction were the Norwood procedure, arterial switch operation, and aortic valve repair/replacement. 79% required mechanical circulatory support, 41% died, and 27% were listed for heart transplant. Patients who died or were listed for heart transplant had longer median sentinel-event-to-cardiac-catheterization time (28 (6-168) hours vs. 10 (3-56) hours, P = 0.001), and longer median sentinel-event-to-intervention time (32 (11-350) hours vs 13 (5-59) hours, P = 0.003). Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome were at higher risk of death or transplant listing (OR 9.23, P = 0.03). Conclusions Time from clinically relevant post-operative sentinel event to diagnosis of coronary artery obstruction by angiography was associated with transplant-listing-free survival. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for coronary obstruction and consider early catheterization and coronary angiography for patients in whom post-operative coronary compromise is suspected.