Congenital coronary artery aneurysms.

Aneurysms of the coronary arteries are rare, and it is only after the advent of coronary arteriography that they have been diagnosed in life. They may be due to atherosclerosis, necrotizing arteritis, myocotic emboli, syphilis, or trauma, and occasionally they are congenital. The prognosis appears to be poor and death can occur suddenly from rupture, peripheral coronary embolism, or bacterial endocarditis (Packard and Wechsler, I929; ScOtt, I948; Plachta and Speer, I958; Daoud et al., I963; Sayegh, Adad, and Macleod, 1968; Konecke et al., I97I; Ebert et al., I97I). Recently surgical treatment has been successful. This report concerns two patients with congenital aneurysms of coronary arteries which were diagnosed by investigation and operated upon at the National Heart Hospital (D.N.R.).