No abstract available.
Coronary Circulation*

No abstract available.
Coronary Circulation* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Hypersensitivity*

Single anomalous coronary artery is a rare congenital anomaly of the coronary circulation. Right coronary artery (RCA) arising from the left anterior descending artery is an extermely rare variety of single coronary artery. We report a 68-year-old patient with a single coronary artery system, in whom the right coronary artery originated from the mid left anterior descending artery.
Aged ; Arteries* ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Vessel Anomalies ; Coronary Vessels* ; Humans

Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Microcirculation ; Myocardial Ischemia

No abstract available.
Coronary Circulation* ; Heart* ; Rats, Inbred SHR*

Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Vessels/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Microcirculation ; Microvascular Angina

OBJECTIVES: To study myocardial perfusion and systolic function in patients with different coronary artery stenosis by myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) and two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI). METHODS: MCE, 2D-STI and coronary angiography were conducted in patients with coronary heart disease in our hospital. Myocardial segments were divided into 4 groups according to the degree of coronary artery stenosis: group A (normal group), group B (mild stenosis, 50%-75%), group C (moderate stenosis, 76%-90%) and group D (severe stenosis, 91%-100%). Blood volume, blood flow velocity, blood flow and longitudinal myocardial strain value (SL) in each group were measured by analysis software for MCE and 2D-STI. The differences in blood volume, blood flow velocity, blood flow and SL were evaluated. RESULTS: The blood flow velocity and blood flow in B, C and D groups were decreased gradually, with significant difference (<0.05). There was no significant difference in blood volume, blood flow velocity, blood flow between group A and group B (>0.05). There were significant differences in SL among the 4 groups (<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a good correlation between coronary stenosis degree and myocardial perfusion or systolic function. The ability of 2D-STI to detect mild stenosis of coronary artery is better than MCE.
Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Stenosis ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Myocardium ; Systole

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SCMP) is diagnosed in 1-2% of patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome. Because of sharing many common clinical features with SCMP, acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) can be misdiagnosed as SCMP. However, it can be associated with fatal outcome of the patient. Also, diagnosis of SCMP seems to be always challenging to clinicians, especially in the decision of taking coronary angiography which is still invasive and even risky. Here, we present a case with acute STEMI mimicking SCMP as a result of anatomical variation of coronary circulation. In this patient, prompt and early coronary angiography and stent implantation was very helpful.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Cardiomyopathies ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Vessels ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stents

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Common anatomical variations exist within the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are equally exposed to systemic risk factors; however, coronary angiography has shown a focal and uneven distribution of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that the nature of coronary arteries, such as the coronary dominance, is one of the local factors able to determine the morphology and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. The relationship between the coronary dominance and the distribution of coronary artery atherosclerosis; however, remains to be investigated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total 264 patients were enrolled for analysis. Using the ACC/AHA definition, the coronary dominance was assessed as either a right dominant, left dominant or balanced dominant artery. The degree of the coronary artery stenosis was obtained using a scoring system. By means of the sum of the numerical values in the three vessels, the total left anterior descending artery (LAD), total left circumflex artery (LCX) and total right coronary artery (RCA) scores were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 264 patients, right, left and balanced dominance was found in 73.5, 16.3 and 10.2%, respectively. The total LAD, LCX and RCA scores were similar in the patients from all three dominance groups (p>0.05). The score for coronary artery disease were shown to be higher in the proximal and mid segments (LAD, p=0.000; LCX, p=0.002; RCA, p=0.041). CONCLUSION: The coronary dominance was not found to relate to the angiographic severity of coronary artery disease. The distribution of coronary disease in the three coronary arteries tended to cluster within the proximal and mid segments of the vessels.
Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Stenosis ; Coronary Vessels* ; Humans ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: The coronary flow reserve is known to be reduced in patients with hypercholesterolemia, and has also been reported to improve after lipid-lowering therapy. Using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, the changes in the coronary flow reserve were evaluated after lipid-lowering therapy in hypercholesterolemic patients. METHODS: The coronary flow reserve was determined by pulsed-wave Doppler examination at the distal left anterior descending coronary artery before and after five months of lipid-lowering therapy in 14 hypercholesterolemic patients (total cholesterol > or =230 mg/dL) with no other modifiable risk factors of coronary heart disease. RESULTS: In all patients, the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were significantly decreased after therapy (from 273+/-27 mg/dL to 199+/-22 mg/dL, p=0.001, from 182+/-25 mg/dL to 110+/-27 mg/dL, p=0.001, respectively). However, there was no significant change in the coronary flow reserve after lipid-lowering therapy (from 2.4+/-0.5 to 2.5+/-0.5, p=0.875). The Baseline LDL-cholesterol showed an inverse correlation with the baseline coronary flow reserve (r =-0.649, p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, no significant change in the coronary flow reserve was noted after lipid-lowering therapy in hypercholesterolemic patients with no other risk factors of coronary heart disease, although the baseline LDL-cholesterol levels were found to correlate well with the baseline coronary flow reserve. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography can be used to easily and non-invasively evaluate the changes in the coronary flow velocity, coronary flow reserve and other related parameters. Therefore, a controlled trial using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography relating to the effect of lipid-lowering therapy on patients showing a wider range of baseline risk factors and LDL-cholesterol level is required.
Cholesterol ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Lipoproteins ; Risk Factors