Examining Coronary Arterial Variations in an Urban Sample: Implications to Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease causes more deaths worldwide than any other medical affliction usually targeting older adults for which one of the antecedents of the disease – atherosclerosis, begins early in life thus making primary prevention efforts necessary from childhood. This study examined angiograms from a cross‐sectional random sample of patients (n=25) in order to document the cardiac vascular pattern, grading the size and dominance of the coronary arterial branching pattern to determine if one can predict which coronary artery branch may be more predisposed to disease processes. An additional mixed‐sex urban population sample from Downstate anatomy laboratory (n=61) was included to compare and contrast the angiogram data. The four branches of the coronary arteries (sinoatrial nodal; posterior interventricular [PIV]; anterior interventricular [AIV] and left circumflex) were examined and similarly graded. Results showed 79% of the cadaveric hearts to be right‐dominant, 15% co‐dominant with dual origin of the PIV artery, and 7% being left dominant. Angiogram data revealed similar results with 80% showing right dominance. While the sinoatrial nodal artery was graded normal 80% of the time, the PIV and AIV arteries were frequently identified as hypertrophied in both sample sets suggesting that these vessels are the most common sites for blockage.