Doctor Paolo Angelini is a highly experienced cardiovascular clinician and interventional cardiologist with a long interest and great experience in the recognition and treatment of coronary artery anomalies. In this special section of the Journal, he has collected contributions from world-wide leaders for the general topic Coronary Artery Anomalies. His goal was to obtain exceptional reviews both of clinical issues and of current concepts on the morphogenesis of the coronary arteries. For the coronary morphogenesis articles, Dr. Angelini had the invaluable assistance of Dr. Roger R. Markwald—a world-renowned molecular geneticist and embryologist who served both as a course director and as basic science editor of the published proceedings.
These papers all arose from presentations made at the symposium Coronary Artery Anomalies: Morphogenesis, Morphology, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Correlations, held on 28 February–1 March 2002, at the Texas Heart Institute. They include up-to-date reviews of 1) the molecular development and biology of coronary artery formation; 2) cellular precursors of the coronary endothelium and growth factors that contribute to coronary morphogenesis; 3) the influence of the epicardium and neural crest on coronary artery development; 4) coronary artery anomalies, including definitions, classification, incidence, clinical issues, and treatment guidelines; 5) the association of congenital heart defects with coronary artery anomalies; 6) the importance of systolic compression of coronary arteries in individuals with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy; and 7) the surgical treatment of coronary artery anomalies, from a 37½-year experience at the Texas Heart Institute. Finally, there is a discussion of interventional techniques as they exist today, as a potential alternative to surgery for the treatment of coronary artery anomalies.
Even a cursory review of these articles makes it very clear that students at every level who are interested in coronary artery anomalies will find something to learn in this special section. This collection of papers is both timely and biologically and clinically useful. I hope that it will provide a stimulus for further research directed toward prevention and timely identification and treatment of these very important abnormalities in the human coronary circulation.