Cardiac anatomy

Coronary Artery Anatomy

Left coronary
Arises from left posterior aortic sinus
(worse prognosis if stenosed)

Right coronary
Arises anterior aortic sinus

  • Sinoatrial nodal (40%)
  • Circumflex
    • Left marginal (obtuse marginal)
    • Left conus
    • Posterior interventricular artery (PDA)
  • Left anterior descending
    • Left conus
    • Diagonal
    • Ventricular + septal
  • Left atrial
  • Right conus
  • SA nodal (60%)
  • Right atrial
  • Right marginal
  • Posterior interventricular artery (PDA)
  • Ventricular branches
  • Septal branches
  • AV nodal (90%)

Internal structure of the heart

 

Coronary blood flow

  • 70-80mls/min per 100g cardiac muscle
  • High blood flow per unit weight of myocardium
  • 70% oxygen extraction (compared to 25% for the rest of the body)
  • Efficient metabolic hyperaemia - myocardial metabolites generated have strong (positive) influence on coronary blood flow
  • Greatest during diastole, lowest flow is during isovolumetric (systolic) contraction - due to compression of artery

 

Control of Coronary blood flow

  1. Metabolic
    • CO2, PGs, Adenosine produce vasodilation
  2. Neural
    • B2 stimulation causes coronary vasodilation
  3. Autoregulation: between 60-180mmHg [See CPP]
    • Myogenic theory - increase in pressure stimulates stretch receptors which causes reflex vasoconstriction increasing pressure despite rising pressure
    • Vasodilator washout - transient arteriorlar dilation following rise in perfusion pressure due to wash out of vasodilators