Anterior Myocardial Infarction, Acute Aortic Dissection, and Anomalous Coronary Artery

Acute dissection of the ascending aorta has, on rare occasions, been accompanied by myocardial infarction due to the compression of the ostium of a coronary artery. Rarer still is the presence of an aortic dissection, myocardial infarction, and an anomalous coronary artery. A case is described of a patient who survived an acute aortic dissection complicated by anterior myocardial infarction due in part to the presence of an anomalous circumflex artery. The anatomy, diagnosis, and consequences of aortic dissection are discussed.