Myocardial bridging: noninvasive diagnosis with multidetector CT.

Author(s): Goitein O, Lacomis JM

Affiliation(s): Department of Radiology, Division of Thoracic Imaging, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-2582, USA. goiteino@upmc.edu

Publication date & source: 2005-03, J Comput Assist Tomogr., 29(2):238-40.

Publication type: Case Reports

An epicardial segment of a coronary artery that courses through the myocardium is termed "myocardial bridging". Generally, this is a benign condition but it may lead to angina, ischemia or infarction. The current diagnostic standard of reference is coronary catheter angiography. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intracoronary Doppler (ICD) have been recently introduced as well. These are all invasive imaging modalities. We describe the utilization of gated multidetector CT (MDCT) as a non-invasive alternative for diagnosis of this anomaly. Information regarding the tunneled coronary artery including its length, depth, precise location and surrounding myocardium is easily obtainable.