Noninvasive coronary venous system imaging using 64-slice CT angiography

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the 64-slice CT angiography in characterizing the coronary venous anatomy and the arterio-venous relationship.Methods Sixty-four slice CT coronary veins angiography images of 300 patients(187 men and 113 women,)were analyzed.The visibility of the coronary veins and arterio-venous spatial relationship were assessed qualitatively on two-and three-dimensional displays.The diameter of the coronary sinus ostium(CSO),middle cardiac vein ostium(MCVO)and posterior vein of left ventricle ostium(PVLVO)were measured.All data was statistically processed with SPSS for Windows.Results The CS,great cardiac vein(GCV)and MCV could be clearly visualized in all of the images.1-3 branches of PVLV could be observed in 273 patients(91.0%).Small cardiac vein(SCV)and Marshall vein were found in 56(18.7%)and 24(8.0%)cases respectively.Three patients had permanent vena cava superior on the left and one patient had a CS diverticulum.Posterior descending artery(PDA)was concomitant with MCV in 189 cases(63.0%)and intersected with MCV in 96 cases(32.0%).Left circumflex artery(LCX)was concomitant with CS in 122 cases(40.7%),intersected with MCV in 15 cases(5.0%),and intersected with PVLV in 104 cases(34.7%).There were no significant differences in age,sex and CHD groups among CSO,MCV,PVLV value.The supero-inferior diameter of CSO had a significant difference between male and female(F=6.67,P＜0.05).Conclusion Sixty-four slice CT venous angiography is able to be used for guiding electrophysiological procedures,which is especially useful due to the considerable variations in venous anatomy. Key words: Coronary vessels; Tomography,X-ray computed; Anatomy