title: Angiographic prevalence of myocardial bridging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Muscle fibers overlying the intramyocardial segment of an epicardial coronary artery are termed myocardial bridging. Variable prevalence has been described at autopsy and angiographic series with small and large sample sizes. The aim of the study was to investigate the angiographic prevalence of myocardial bridging in 25982 patients from Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study, evaluated the cases with myocardial bridging among patients undergone selective coronary angiography, and searched the angiographic prevalence of myocardial bridging in a very large sample size. We studied also the correlation between the severity of the bridging and risk factors for coronary artery disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 25982 patients we found 316 cases of myocardial bridging in a retrospective manner. The total prevalence was 1.22%. Although, 96.52% of patients with myocardial bridging had the lesion in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) as expected, distribution of bridges between mid- and distal segments were almost equal (52.79% and 47.21%, respectively). We subclassified patients in two groups, Group A (<50% of systolic compression) and Group B (>or=50% of systolic compression), according to the amount of systolic compression of LAD and studied relationship of risk factors for coronary artery disease between groups. Another subclassification was also made for patients having myocardial bridging without coronary or valvular heart disease and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy; Group 1 (<50% of systolic compression) and Group 2 (>or=50% of systolic compression). In these patients we studied correlation between the severity of the myocardial bridging and risk factors for coronary artery disease. The prevalence of bridges in circumflex and right coronary arteries individually and in all arteries as combination was also studied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a very large group of patients from Turkey undergone selective coronary artery angiography, the angiographic prevalence of myocardial bridging was slightly higher than expected. Only diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for coronary artery disease was higher in groups representing <50% of systolic compression (Group A and 1) than in groups representing >or=50% of systolic compression (Group B and 2) but the importance of this result is not known.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Yüksek Ihtisas Heart Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. cayserkan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cay
authors.forename: Sezgin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oztürk
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cihan
authors.forename: Halil L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kisacik
authors.forename: Sule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korkmaz
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology