[Sudden death in young athletes: Data from postmortem coronarography].

Two cases of sudden death of young athletes are analysed. Postmortal coronary angiography was performed and coronary index was estimated on the angiograms. Coronary index represents a ratio between the mean coronary caliber and myocardial weight thus reflecting myocardial blood supply.

[Technical potentials for performing intravital aortocoronary shunting in sudden death from ischemic heart disease (based on postmortem coronary angiographic data)].

Technical feasibility of aortocoronary shunting was examined retrospectively in 70 cases where sudden coronary death had occurred outside of hospital. Postmortem coronary angiograms, coronary arterial cross sections made at 5 mm intervals, and the nature and spread of focal myocardial lesions were studied. A coronary artery with more than 50% of its lumen affected in the proximal or middle part, but no significant narrowings in the distal channel, was considered shuntable if myocardial focal lesions did not exceed 15% of left-ventricular and interventricular-septum volume.

[Elaboration of criteria for selection of patients with chronic ischemic heart disease for direct myocardial revascularization surgery].

Indications for direct myocardial revascularization were specified on the basis of a new parameter: the disrupted myocardial blood supply zone (DBSZ). Absolute indications for the procedure included: a more than 50% narrowing in the diameter of the main trunk of the left coronary artery; two or 3 vessels affected with the DBSZ accounting for at least 75% of the left-ventricular and interventricular-septum weight. Relative indications included: two or three affected vessels with the DBSZ covering between 50 and 75% of the left-ventricular and interventricular-septum weight; and a more than 50% isolated proximal narrowing of the diameter of the anterior interventricular branch with any type of coronary blood supply, of the right coronary artery, with types 10:10 and 11:9, and of the circumflex branch, with types 5:15 and 6:14.

[Sudden death outside the hospital from coronary heart disease: the state of the intercoronary artery collaterals].

By means of postmortem selective coronary angiography coronary collaterals of 55 sudden out-of-hospital coronary death victims were investigated. The collaterals were found in most (58,5%) sudden coronary death cases. There was no correlation between the presence of coronary collaterals, on the one hand, and ischaemic heart disease symptoms during the life and focal myocardial lesions in deceased persons, on the other.

[Determination of the types of coronary blood supply by the mass of the blood-supplied zones established on the basis of coronary radiograms].

The dominant coronary arteries and coronary supply types were determined by means of coronary topograms plotted from 305 coronary angiograms, including 30 postmortem ones. Coronary supply types were expressed by the following ratios of numeral values: 5:15, 6:14, 7:13, 8:12, 9:11, 10:10, 11:9, which corresponded to mass scores of the areas supplied through the right (RCA) and the left (LCA) coronary artery. Such determination of coronary supply types in postmortem examinations was verified by separate weighing of the RCA and LCA basins.

[Possibilities of improving the diagnosis of coronary heart disease by an angiographic method].

A method for quantitative analysis of coronarograms permitting the determination of average total caliber of the coronary arteries and the angiographic coronary index is being reported. These parameters enable assessment of the degree, localization of not only segmentary but also diffuse lesions of the coronary arteries. The angiographic coronary index, which reflects the coordination of the coronary bed to the mass of the blood-fed myocardium, can be used for assessment of the relative insufficiency of the coronary blood flow.