Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery

Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery
Other names	Bland-White-Garland syndrome
Possible communication between left coronary artery and pulmonary artery in a 45-year-old woman with Bland-White-Garland syndrome.
Specialty	Cardiology

Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA, Bland-White-Garland syndrome or White-Garland syndrome) is a rare congenital anomaly occurring in approximately 1 in 300,000 liveborn children. The diagnosis comprises between 0.24 and 0.46% of all cases of congenital heart disease.^[1] The anomalous left coronary artery (LCA) usually arises from the pulmonary artery instead of the aortic sinus. In fetal life, the high pressure in the pulmonic artery and the fetal shunts enable oxygen-rich blood to flow in the LCA. By the time of birth, the pressure will decrease in the pulmonic artery and the child will have a postnatal circulation. The myocardium, which is supplied by the LCA, will therefore be dependent on collateral blood flow from the other coronary arteries, mainly the RCA. Because the pressure in RCA exceeds the pressure in LCA a collateral circulation will increase. This situation ultimately can lead to blood flowing from the RCA into the LCA retrograde and into the pulmonary artery, thus forming a left-to-right shunt.^[2]