title: Long term angiographic and clinical follow up in patients with stent implantation for symptomatic myocardial bridging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess long term results of coronary stent implantation in patients with symptomatic myocardial bridging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intracoronary stent implantation was performed within the intramural course of the left anterior descending coronary artery in 11 patients with objective signs of myocardial ischaemia and absence of other cardiac disorders. All had myocardial bridging of the central portion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Quantitative coronary angiography was performed before and after stent deployment, and again at seven weeks and six months. Clinical evaluation was done at two years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After stent deployment, quantitative coronary angiography showed absence of systolic compression along the left anterior descending coronary artery; the minimum luminal diameter (mean (SD)) increased from 0.6 (0.3) mm before stent implantation to 1.9 (0.3) mm after implantation (p < 0. 05). Intravascular ultrasound showed an increase in cross sectional area from 3.3 (1.3) mm(2) at baseline to 6.8 (0.9) mm(2) (p < 0.005) after stent deployment. Coronary flow reserve was normalised from 2. 6 (0.5) at baseline to 4.0 (0.5) (p < 0.005) after stent implantation. At seven weeks, quantitative coronary angiography showed mild to moderate or severe in-stent stenosis in five of the 11 patients; four of these underwent repeat target vessel revascularisation (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in two; coronary artery bypass grafting in two). At six months, all patients (n = 9) showed good angiographic results, including those who had target vessel revascularisation. On clinical evaluation at two years, all patients (including those with target vessel revascularisation) remained free of angina and cardiac events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intracoronary stent implantation prevents external compression of bridged coronary artery segments, with increase in luminal diameter and alleviation of symptoms. The incidence of in-stent stenosis requiring target vessel revascularisation (36%) is comparable with that of lesions of 25 mm length in coronary artery disease. The symptom free and event free two year follow up data suggest that stent implantation is a useful way of treating symptomatic patients with myocardial bridges.
authors.affiliation: Medical Clinic I, University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstr 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Haager
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: vom Dahl
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Klues
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reffelmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hanrath
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D012008:Recurrence; D015607:Stents