Origin and size of the coronary arteries in the north-west Indians

The origin of the coronary arteries and sizes of their ostia were studied in 500 adult hearts (385 male and 115 female), obtained from medico-legal autopsies performed by one of the authors on subjects varying in age from 18 to 75 years and residents of Chandigarh zone. Third coronary artery was present in 34.8% male and 27.8% female hearts (p greater than 0.05). Whereas the incidence of the origin of right coronary artery above the supravalvular ridge was 3.4% in the males and 1.7% in females (p greater than 0.05), that of the left coronary artery was 7% in both sexes. The mean diameter of the origin of the right coronary artery in the males was 3.2 +/- 0.5 mm, and that of the females was 2.8 +/- 0.4 mm (p less than .001). The mean diameter of the left coronary artery in the males was 3.7 +/- .7 mm, and in famels 3.2 +/- .6 mm (p less than .001). The size of the left coronary artery in unsexed hearts of north-west Indian population was calculated as 3.6 mm while that of the right as 3.1 mm. The former is definitely smaller than that given in Western literature, while the size of the right artery is only marginally so. The sizes of both coronary arteries had significant correlationship with body weight, body weight, body surface area, heart weight and age. This investigation showed that the size of the coronary arteries increased with an increase in age.