Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
Tests and procedures used to diagnose spontaneous coronary artery dissection involve creating pictures of your arteries to look for signs of abnormalities.
Injecting special dye into the affected artery
During a set of procedures called cardiac catheterization and coronary angiogram, doctors inject a special dye into your arteries so they'll show up on imaging tests. To get the dye to your arteries, doctors insert a long, thin tube (catheter) into an artery — usually in your leg or arm — and thread the tube to the arteries in the heart.
Once the dye is released, doctors use X-rays to create pictures of the arteries. The X-rays may show abnormalities in an artery that help confirm spontaneous coronary artery dissection.
Creating images of the inside of arteries
After coronary angiogram, other tools may be inserted through the catheter and into the affected artery to create pictures. These imaging tests may include:
- Intravascular ultrasound. A special imaging catheter may be passed into your arteries to create sound-wave pictures (ultrasound).
- Optical coherence tomography. A catheter equipped with a special light may be passed into your arteries to create light-based pictures.
The images may show abnormalities in an artery that help doctors confirm spontaneous coronary artery dissection and gather information to guide treatment decisions.
Using advanced imaging to see the arteries
During a cardiac computerized tomography (CT) angiography scan, you lie on a table inside a doughnut-shaped machine. An X-ray tube inside the machine rotates around your body and collects images of your heart and chest, which can show abnormalities in your arteries. Cardiac CT angiography may be used in addition to other tests and procedures.
- Tweet SM, et al. Clinical features, management and prognosis of spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Circulation. 2012;126:579.
- Vrints CJM. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Heart. 2010;806:91.
- Alfonso F, et al. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection: Long-term follow-up of a large series of patients prospectively managed with a "conservative" therapeutic strategy. JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. 2012;5:1062.
- Glamore MJ, et al. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Journal of Cardiac Surgery. 2012;27:56.
- Ito H, et al. Presentation and therapy of spontaneous coronary artery dissection and comparisons of postpartum versus nonpostpartum cases. American Journal of Cardiology. 2011;107:1590.
- Don't take a chance with a heart attack: Know the facts and act fast. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/mi/heart_attack_fs_en.htm. Accessed Jan. 11, 2013.
- NINDS Fibromuscular dysplasia information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/fibromuscular_dysplasia/fibromuscular_dysplasia.htm. Accessed Jan. 10, 2013.
- What is coronary angiography? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ca. Accessed Jan. 11, 2013.
- What is a stent? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/stents. Accessed Jan. 14, 2013.
- What is coronary artery bypass grafting? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cabg. Accessed Jan. 14, 2013.
- Coping with feelings. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/CardiacRehab/Coping-with-Feelings_UCM_307092_Article.jsp. Accessed Jan. 14, 2013.
- Hayes SN (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 17, 2013.
- What is cardiac rehabilitation? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/rehab. Accessed Jan. 21, 2013.
Find Mayo Clinic on