Evaluation of Drugs and Strategies for Treating Coronary Artery Ectasia: Update and Future Perspective

Abstract

Context: Although the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) and its treatment methods are not known for certainty, increased inflammatory and coagulation responses can be responsible for the formation of ectasia due to vascular disorders. Evidence Acquisition: The content used in this paper was obtained from English language articles (2005 - 2020) retrieved from the PubMed database and Google scholar search engine using “coronary artery ectasia”, “treatment”, “drug”, and “aneurysm” keywords. Results: The proven effect of inflammation and coagulation in CAE has posed a significant challenge for disease management. Therefore, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation drugs can be treatment options for these patients. Increased inflammatory responses and some coagulation factors in CAE patients is undeniable. The study of these two systems in CAE patients and the evaluation of drugs affecting these mechanisms to achieve a definitive conclusion requires further and more extensive studies. Conclusions: We evaluated the hypothesis that anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation drugs with improved vascular endothelial function may accelerate the healing process of CAE patients; thus, they may be treatment options. Finally, it can be said that identifying molecular pathways related to drugs can improve their effectiveness in treating patients and increasing their survival. In addition, identifying upstream and downstream pathways can help diagnose the disease pathogenesis in addition to treating patients.