Malignant right coronary artery in an athlete: Evidence-less based medicine?

A 31-year-old man presented with central chest heaviness. He was a smoker of 15 pack-years, but otherwise had no other comorbidities. He was also a professional footballer. There was no family history of sudden cardiac deaths of note. In view of a low to intermediate pre-test probability for coronary artery disease (CAD), computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) was performed, revealing an anomalous, malignant right coronary artery (RCA), originating from the left main coronary stem. Malignant RCAs are rare, and the majority of patients remain asymptomatic. However, malignant RCAs have been associated with both myocardial infarctions and sudden cardiac deaths, which has led to difficulty in deciding on whether a 'watchful waiting' approach or more proactive approach should be adopted. Unfortunately, there remains a lack of evidence to help guide treatment decisions. Furthermore, there are no known guidelines on managing coronary anomalies in athletes, such as the case presented. As the majority of national guidelines have largely recommended CTCA as first-line investigation in patients with low to intermediate risk of CAD with chest pain, incidental finding of coronary anomalies will become more common, urging the need for guidelines to help with directing management in such cases. © Royal College of Physicians 2020. All rights reserved.