[Myocardial bridge: description, significance, treatment]

The myocardial bridge is a well known anomalous trajectory of the coronary arteries, the significance of which has been discussed for a long time. It now appears that some myocardial bridges may cause myocardial ischaemia with clinical electrocardiographic, scintigraphic or metabolic signs--even myocardial infarction or sudden death. In these symptomatic cases, treatment is usually medical and rarely surgical. In the last few years, angioplasty and stenting have been used more frequently in cases resistant to medical therapy and appear to be an effective alternative to surgery.