Coronary Fistula between Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD) and Pulmonary Artery (PA) Leading to Sudden Cardiac Death: Case Report with Literature Review

Coronary artery fistulas (CAF) are inappropriate connections between a coronary artery and a major vessel or a cardiac chamber. These fistulas may or may not present with symptoms, but they need to be detected as early as possible in order to decide on the most appropriate treatment methodology (i.e. surgery versus conservative management). We report the case of a 67-year-old female with no modifiable cardiovascular risk factors who had an unwitnessed sudden death at home during her ongoing evaluation of a fistula detected incidentally between the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and the pulmonary artery (PA). This case highlights that early diagnosis and treatment of symptomatic CAF is crucial to minimize the risk of sudden cardiac death. Although symptomatic fistula of LAD to PA has been reported in the literature multiple times, it has been rarely reported that this fistula can result in sudden cardiac death