Distribution of coronary artery disease in patients with isolated aortic valve disease

: Forty-four adult patients with isolated aortic valve disease underwent coronary arteriography. Seventy precent of patients required aortic valve replacement (AVR). Of 28 men who underwent AVR, 59 percent of those with severe aortic stenosis, 33 percent of those with severe aortic regurgitation and 50 percent of those with mixed aortic stenosis/aortic regurgitation had associated coronary artery disease. Thirty-six percent of men with aortic valve disease not requiring AVR had significant coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD was not found in the 5 female patients studied. In the patients with CAD, the left anterior descending artery was involved 84 percent of the time. Next in frequency were the right coronary artery, the proximal left circumflex artery, and the obtuse marginal artery. Multivessel disease was the rule. All but one patient with significant CAD had angina pectoris, but many patients with angina had normal coronary arteries. The frequent occurence of significant CAD in adult male patients with isolated aortic valve disease argues for the performance of selective coronary arteriography in all such patients in whom AVR is a consideration.