Related Experiment Videos
Degrees of severe stenoses in sigma-shaped versus C-shaped right coronary arteries
Danny Dvir1, Ran Kornowski, Jacob Gurevich
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, affiliated with the Rapparort Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
Insights
A C-shaped right coronary artery (RCA) is linked to higher rates of atherosclerosis compared to a sigma-shaped RCA. This finding suggests shape may indicate disease risk.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular imaging
- Coronary artery disease
Background:
- The right coronary artery (RCA) exhibits distinct anatomical shapes, C-shaped and sigma-shaped, on standard angiography.
- Understanding variations in RCA morphology may offer insights into coronary artery disease (CAD) risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the shape of the right coronary artery (C-shaped vs. sigma-shaped) and the presence of atherosclerotic disease.
- To determine if RCA morphology is an independent predictor of atherosclerosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of coronary angiograms from 120 consecutive patients.
- Multivariate analysis incorporating systemic risk factors for atherosclerosis.
- Categorization of RCAs into C-shaped and sigma-shaped morphologies.
Main Results:
- A significantly higher proportion of sigma-shaped RCAs (70%) were observed in patients with minimal or no coronary obstruction.
- Conversely, a lower proportion of sigma-shaped RCAs (33%) were found in patients with significant coronary artery obstruction (p < 0.001).
- This indicates a positive association between C-shaped RCAs and the presence of atherosclerosis.
Conclusions:
- The C-shaped morphology of the right coronary artery is significantly associated with atherosclerotic disease.
- RCA shape may serve as a potential indicator for atherosclerosis risk stratification in clinical practice.
Abstract:
The right coronary artery (RCA) appears either C-shaped or sigma-shaped during standard angiography. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess whether C-shaped RCAs are associated with more atherosclerotic disease than sigma-shaped RCAs. The study sample comprised 120 consecutive patients who underwent coronary catheterization and multivariate analysis was conducted using several systemic risk factors for atherosclerosis. The proportion of sigma-shaped RCAs found in a group whose angiograms showed little or no obstruction (70%) was significantly higher than that found in the group with significant obstruction (33%, p <0.001). In conclusion, a C-shaped RCA is associated with atherosclerosis.