[Myocardial bridge - congenital anomaly of coronary vasculature.]

Coronary artery lumen compression during systole by a myocardial bridge can cause myocardial ischemia and even necrosis. Myocardial bridges represent a variant of norm or congenital anomaly of coronary vasculature. They belong to relatively frequent autopsy findings (5.4-85.7%) and are most often located over left anterior descending artery. Main angiographic sign of myocardial bridging is effect of contrast medium pushing out during narrowing of intramural part of a coronary artery during systole. In most cases systolic coronary artery narrowing not associated with any symptoms and bridging is just accidentally found at angiography. However some bridges produce clinical manifestations such as angina pectoris or myocardial infarction which require drug treatment. Therapy failures are managed by stenting or surgery. Under certain conditions systolic coronary artery narrowing can cause sudden death therefore all patients with clinically overt myocardial bridges should be under continuous medical surveillance. A case of clinically successful open heart supracoronary myotomy in a patient with myocardial ischemia due to a bridge causing 80% systolic narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery is presented.