MYOCARDIAL VENTRICULAR MASS RELATED TO CORONARY-ARTERY DISTRIBUTION IN HUMAN HEARTS

This prospective study of 120 autopsy collected human hearts correlate s the ''Right Ventricle/Left Ventricle'' free walls mass ratio and the ventricular mass fraction supplied by the right coronary (''Right Cor onary/Ventricular Weight''). Different coloured gel injected through b oth coronary artery's capillary beds allowed ventricular myocardium se paration to obtain the weights. In hearts without hypertrophy, mean+/- standard deviation of the ''Right Ventricle/Left Ventricle'' mass rati o was 0.54+/-0.09 for males and 0.62+/-0.23 for females; ''Right Coron ary/Ventricular Weight'' mass ratios were 0.39+/-0.08 and 0.39+/-0.04, respectively. Mean+/-standard deviation of the ''Right Ventricle/Left Ventricle'' and ''Right Coronary/Ventricular Weight'' ratios were 0.3 7+/-0.05 and 0.36+/-0.10, respectively in hearts with ''Left Ventricle Hypertrophy''; 0.56+/-0.07 and 0.38+/-0.11 in hearts ''Without Hypert rophy''; 0.54+/-0.08 and 0.39+/-0.08 in hearts with ''Biventricular Hy pertrophy''; 0.89+/-0.16 and 0.49+/-0.06 in hearts with ''Right Ventri cle Hypertrophy''. Means and variances are narrower for the ''Right Co ronary/Ventricular Weight'' than that observed for the ''Right Ventric le/Left Ventricle'' mass ratio. It is due to the special double corona ry arrangement in which every artery irrigates both ventricles. These results suggest that the usual pattern of the human coronary arteries' anatomy acts as a buffer for the ventricular mass distribution to be irrigated by both arteries in hypertrophy. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science I reland Ltd.