Abstract
To determine the genesis of the high incidence of stenotic lesions of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in the young, we have investigated the anatomical characteristics of coronary arteries in the following 3 groups; young (≤40 yr) myocardial infarction (MI) patients with LAD lesions, young (≤40 yr) patients without coronary stenosis and aged (≥60 yr) MI patients. The angle between the left main coronary artery (LMT) and the LAD in the young MI patient group (146.7±7.4°) was significantly wider than those of the young normal (126.0±13.4°) or the aged MI patient groups (127.1±18.6°) (p<0.01, p<0.02, respectively). The angle between the LMT and the left circumflex artery (LCX), and the angle between the LAD and the LCX were not significantly different among the 3 groups. The LMT length in the young MI patient group was 18.3±4.7mm, which was not significantly longer than those of the young normal (12.7±6.9mm) or the aged patient groups (14.8±6.0mm). The internal diameter ratio of the LAD and LCX was also not significantly different among the 3 groups. These results suggest that the angle between the LMT and LAD was significantly wider in young MI patients, and should be regarded as an inherited characteristic influencing the development of coronary atherosclerosis of the LAD, particularly in young MI patients.
