Multislice CT angiography assessment of left coronary artery: Correlation between bifurcation angle and dimensions and development of coronary artery disease

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between left coronary bifurcation and dimensional changes and development of coronary artery disease using multislice CT angiography. Materials and methods: 30 patients (18 men, 12 women, mean age, 56 years +/- 8) suspected of coronary artery disease undergoing 64- and 256-slice CT angiography were included in the study. Left bifurcation angle and left coronary diameter were measured to determine the relationship between angulation and plaque formation and subsequent dimensional changes. Results: Plaques were present in the left coronary artery in 22 patients with variable angulations and dimensional changes. The mean bifurcation angle between left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries was measured 89.1 degrees +/- 13.1 degrees (range, 55.3 degrees, 134.5 degrees) among all patients. The mean bifurcation angle measured in patients with normal and diseased left coronary artery was 75.5 degrees +/- 19.8 degrees (range, 60 degrees, 96.1 degrees), and 94 degrees +/- 19.7 degrees (range, 55.3 degrees, 134.5 degrees), respectively, with significant difference between these two groups (p = 0.02). Similarly, there is a significant difference in the mean diameters of left anterior descending and left circumflex between patients with normal and diseased left coronary artery (p < 0.001), which were measured 2.8 +/- 0.3 mm (range, 2.2, 3.2 mm) and 2.1 +/- 0.4 mm (range, 1.9, 2.9 mm) for the normal left coronary arteries, 4.0 +/- 0.8 mm (range, 2.5, 6.1 mm) and 2.9 +/- 0.5 mm (range, 1.6, 3.9 mm) for the diseased left coronary arteries, respectively. Conclusion: There is a direct correlation between left bifurcation angle and dimensional changes and formation of plaques. Multislice CT angiography can be used to provide relevant features of left coronary atherosclerosis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.