MB at the level of LAD determined by CT coronary angiography: frequency, morphometry

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The coronary arteries and their major branches usually have a course on the surface of the heart. Sometimes, they can have an intramyocardial course, and the cardiac muscle fibers above the intramural segment are called myocardial bridge (MB) and the artery with an intramyocardial course is called a tunneling artery. Materials and methods We studied a total of 2868 CT coronary angiographies, of which 1502 were female. The CT angiographies were performed on a GE LightSpeed VCT64 Slice CT scanner. Results In the 2868 CT coronary angiographies reviewed, we found a number of 284 CT scans with MB, which presented a number of 363 MB, 250 cases being localized at the level of the LAD artery. In these 250 cases, I found a number of 301 MB. In 210 cases, MB were unique. The length of unique MB located at the level of the LAD artery ranged from 4.25-43.10 mm, with MB thickness ranging from 0.7-5.7 mm. The diameter of the tunneling artery in systole was found to range from 1.2-2.6 mm. Conclusions Given the frequency of complications occurring in individuals with MB (see sudden deaths occurring on sports grounds or at the workplace), control of coronary vascularization through angiography CT is necessary, especially for performance athletes or individuals who exert significant effort in their profession, even when the individual does not exhibit any symptoms, thus enabling active detection among the population. Abbreviations: MB: myocardial bridge; CT: computed tomography; CAD: coronary artery disease; LAD: left anterior interventricular; LCA: left coronary artery; CA: coronary angiography; HCM: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; PIV: posterior interventricular artery; RCA: right coronary artery; RCX: circumflex artery