title: Morphological description and clinical implications of myocardial bridges: an anatomical study in Colombians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Myocardial bridges represent a hotly debated research topic. Myocardial bridges are considered to be a vascular heart variation due to its intermittent or enduring reducing of the arterial lumen, with a possible ischemic effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  154 hearts were studied, having been extracted as fresh autopsy material. Coronary arteries were injected with synthetic resin and cleaned by extracting the pericardial fat.
  
  
  RESULTS
  92 myocardial bridges were observed in 62 hearts (40.3%). Average myocardial bridge length was 19.9 mm. Myocardial bridges varied per artery from one myocardial bridge in 42 hearts (27.3%), two myocardial bridges in 11 hearts (7.2%), three myocardial bridges in 8 hearts (5.2%) and four myocardial bridges in 1 heart (0.7%). Most myocardial bridges coincided with the anterior interventricular artery in its proximal and intermediate segments in 61 cases (39.6%) and left diagonal artery in 11 cases (7.2%). Arteries emitted just before myocardial bridges (pre-bridge branch) in 50 cases (54.3%) of the sample, with an average caliber of 1.41 mm. A third coronary artery was present in 46 cases (29.8%) of total sample. A higher frequency of myocardial bridges was found in hearts with a third coronary artery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is necessary to consider the clinical importance of the variations considering the arterial distribution and associated clinical implications.
authors: Universidad Industrial de Santander, Calle 45 No. 33-17, Bucaramanga, Colômbia. lballest56@yahoo.es
authors: Luis Ernesto Ballesteros
authors: LE
authors: Acunã
authors: Luis Miguel Ramírez
authors: LM
authors: Aristeguieta
authors: Saldarriaga Bladimir
authors: SB
authors: Tellez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054084:Myocardial Bridging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult