Does populational difference influence the size of adult human coronary arteries?

Abstract

Introduction: Many articles have measured the coronary artery size and compared with similar studies to verify the differences between populations. This study also compares its finding with other identical studies with an attempt to integrate them to evaluate earlier conclusions made on population differences. Materials and Methods: Normal coronary angiograms from the preexisting database of patients who underwent cardiac catheterization were analyzed for their sizes using catheter tip as calibrating object. Results: The measurements of left main coronary artery, left anterior descending artery, circumflex artery (CX), and right coronary artery (RCA) were 2.53 [+ or -] 0.26 mm, 1.86 [+ or -] 0.19 mm, 1.77 [+ or -] 0.27 mm, and 1.80 [+ or -] 0.22 mm, respectively, after being adjusted to body surface area. Coronary vessel sizes were compared between Indians, Nepalese, and the Caucasians. The RCA was significantly larger in the Indians as compared to Nepalese and Caucasians whereas Nepalese left anterior descending and CX arteries were significantly larger than both Indians and Caucasians while the left main artery was significantly larger among Nepalese than Indians. Conclusion: After evaluating our findings with various other similar studies, this study concludes that coronary artery diameter varies with populations.