Collateral Circulation & Right Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease, including a damaged right coronary artery, is the most common form of heart disease, affecting millions across the world. Collateral circulation is the body's natural attempt to circumvent this problem.

Identification

• Coronary artery disease is an obstruction of the heart arteries resulting from atherosclerosis, a buildup of fatty deposits called plaque that block proper blood flow through the coronary system.

Significance

• The two primary coronary arteries are the right and left coronary arteries. When either, or both, of these are plagued by atherosclerosis, chest pain (angina) and potentially a heart attack will occur. In some cases, collateral circulation may attempt to naturally solve the problem.

Natural Bypass

• Collateral circulation occurs when small, typically closed arteries open and provide alternate ways for blood to flow. "These vessels normally aren't open," the American Heart Association says on its website. "However, they grow and enlarge in some people with coronary heart disease or other blood vessel disease."

Considerations

• Patients with collateral circulation are more than twice as likely to have had previous heart attacks, with or without their knowledge--positive support of the theory that the body uses this process to prolong life and minimize damage, according to a publication from the American College of Chest Physicians.

Prevention/Solution

• Treatment for reversal of right coronary artery disease ranges from lifestyle changes like smoking cessation, to medication and, eventually, surgeries such as angioplasty, stenting and coronary-artery bypass surgery.