CHANGES OF THE ARCHITECTONICS AND THE DIAMETERS OF CORONARY ARTERIES IN RELATION TO THE PHASES OF CARDIAC CYCLE IN MEN AND WOMEN

The aim of the study was to define the regularities of the structure of the coronary arterial bed of the human heart depending on the phases of cardiac cycle. 161 coronary angiograms of the patients without any evidence of pathological changes in coronary arteries were analyzed. Patients of both sexes aged 36 to 74 years were examined using X-ray surgical equipment with digital image recording. It was found that the diameter of the main trunk and the angles between first order branches in the system of right coronary artery (RCA) and left coronary artery (LCA) changed depending on the phases of cardiac cycle. The lumen diameter of the main trunk of RCA and LCA in diastole was found to increase in comparison with that in systole in 28.0 and 34.2% of cases respectively, to decrease in 36.0 and 33.5% of cases and not to change in 36.0 and 32.0% respectively. With increasing age, diameters of RCA and LCA decreased in men and increased in women both during ventricular systole and diastole. In addition, with increasing age both in men and in women the difference between the diameters of the LKA in systole and diastole decreased, which is an indirect indicator of the reduction of elasticity of the vascular wall. The angle between the first order vessels in the systems of RCA and LCA increased in diastole as compared to that in systole in 56.5 and 69.6% of cases respectively and decreased in 37.9 and 30.4% of cases. The angle between the branches of RCA did not change in 5.6% of cases. Patterns of organization of the coronary arterial bed of the heart are considered to be the basis for objective assessment of coronary hemodynamics with the use of hydrodynamic laws in relation to the phases of the cardiac cycle.

myocardium, coronary arteries, angioarchitectonics, cardiac cycle