[Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery and acute myocardial infarction: cause or coincidence?].

Congenital coronary artery anomalies are one of the causes of myocardial ischemia and sudden death in the young, mainly during sports. Origin of the right coronary artery from the left anterior descending artery is very rare, with a prevalence of 0.015%, corresponding to 1.2% of all coronary artery anomalies. The authors present the case of a 22-year-old man, with a history of cocaine use, admitted to hospital with a non-ST elevation acute myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography revealed the presence of this rare coronary anomaly and the absence of atherosclerotic luminal stenosis, and so it was assumed to be a type II infarction caused by cocaine-induced vasospasm of the anomalous vessel. © 2011 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.