Cross-sectional area measurement of the coronary arteries using CT angiography at the level of the bifurcation: is there a relationship?

PURPOSE Our aim was to determine whether there is a correlation between cross-sectional areas of the left main coronary artery (LMCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), and circumflex artery (CX) in normal cases using coronary CT angiography. METHOD Examinations of 180 patients (119 men and 61 women) were selected among 2248 consecutive coronary CT angiography studies. Cross-sectional areas of LMCA, LAD, and CX were measured at the level of bifurcation. Correlation between age, height, and body mass index and coronary artery cross-sectional areas was investigated and possibility of formulating a correlation between the cross-sectional areas of LMCA, LAD, and CX was explored. RESULTS Mean cross-sectional areas of LMCA, LAD, and CX were found as 17.4 +/- 3.9 mm(2), 12.5 +/- 3.1 mm(2), and 10.5 +/- 3.0 mm(2), respectively. While cross-sectional areas of LMCA and LAD were significantly larger in men, no significant difference was found between the sectional areas of CX in men and women. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to elucidate the relationship between the cross-sectional areas of LMCA LAD, and CX. Our analysis showed that the relationship between LMCA, LAD, and CX cross-sectional areas can be formulated as follows: LMCA=3.870 + 0.718xLAD + 0.434xCX. CONCLUSION There is a correlation between the cross-sectional areas of LMCA, LAD, and CX at the level of bifurcation, and this correlation can be expressed with a formula.