Aortic valve disease and left dominant coronary system a significant association.

OBJECTIVES: To study the dominance of coronary artery distribution in patients with aortic valve disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The prevalence of left dominant coronary artery system in patients with aortic valve disease was compared with patients without aortic valve disease undergoing coronary angiography. Group 1 consisted of 237 patients with symptomatic aortic valve disease and Group 2 consisted of 241 consecutive patients without aortic valve disease undergoing cardiac catheterisation. RESULTS: Forty two patients in Group 1 and 20 patients in Group 2 (p < 0.01) showed a left dominant pattern of supply. Fifteen patients in Group 1 and eight patients in Group 2 showed a co-dominant pattern of supply (p = NS). Among patients in Group 1, there was no significant difference in the increased prevalence of left dominant system between patients with congenital or acquired aortic valve disease or between the different categories of aortic valve lesions. CONCLUSION: Patients with aortic valve disease show a statistically significant higher prevalence of left dominant pattern of blood supply. This higher prevalence of left dominance is seen in all categories of aortic valve lesions, namely, predominant aortic stenosis, predominant aortic regurgitation and in combined aortic stenotic and regurgitant lesions.