Abstract
Ischemia and subsequent infarction may occur when blood supply to the heart is impeded by coronary artery disease. Stimulating coronary collateral formation may provide a therapeutic option in patients that cannot be successfully revascularized by conventional surgery. However, detailed information on the mechanism of collateral formation is needed.In this study an imaging cryomicrotome was used to acquire high resolution data of collateral connections. Coronary arteries in 5 canine hearts were prepared with fluorescent cast material and cut serially at 20μm slices. After each cut, the surface of the remaining material was imaged. Skeletonization of the 3D vasculature allowed defining connectivity and collateral connection identification. On average, 800 collaterals were identified for each heart, diameters ranging from 40 – 200 μm. The number of collaterals was approximately twofold higher in the endocardium compared to the epicardium, even though the measured volume of the endocardium was on average 2.5 times smaller than the epicardial volume. The diameter and length distributions of the collateral segments appeared equal for the two myocardial layers. These characteristics may provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of collateral formation. Supported by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw 91105008and 91611171), and by FP7‐ICT 2007224495 (euHeart).
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