Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection is Infrequent in Individuals With Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease Despite Partially Shared Genetic Susceptibility

Authors

Andrea M Murad
Hannah L Hill
Yu Wang
Michael Ghannam
Min-Lee Yang
Norma L Pugh
Federico M Asch
Whitney Hornsby
Anisa Driscoll
Jennifer McNamara
Cristen J Willer
Ellen S Regalado
Dianna M Milewicz
Kim A Eagle
Santhi K Ganesh

Publication Date

5-1-2022

Journal

American Journal of Medical Genetics

Abstract

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a potential precipitant of myocardial infarction and sudden death for which the etiology is poorly understood. Mendelian vascular and connective tissue disorders underlying thoracic aortic disease (TAD), have been reported in ~5% of individuals with SCAD. We therefore hypothesized that patients with TAD are at elevated risk for SCAD. We queried registries enrolling patients with TAD to define the incidence of SCAD. Of 7568 individuals enrolled, 11 (0.15%) were found to have SCAD. Of the sequenced cases (9/11), pathogenic variants were identified (N = 9), including COL3A1 (N = 3), FBN1 (N = 2), TGFBR2 (N = 2), TGFBR1 (N = 1), and PRKG1 (N = 1). Individuals with SCAD had an increased frequency of iliac artery dissection (25.0% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.047). The prevalence of SCAD among individuals with TAD is low. The identification of pathogenic variants in genes previously described in individuals with SCAD, particularly those underlying vascular Ehlers-Danlos, Marfan syndrome, and Loeys-Dietz syndrome, is consistent with prior reports from clinical SCAD series. Further research is needed to identify specific genetic influences on SCAD risk.

Keywords

Arterial Disease, Familial Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection, Genetic Susceptibility, Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection