Background: Myocardial bridge (MB) is generally considered as a benign condition, but it may trigger atherosclerosis, especially in the adjacent proximal coronary artery segment. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the Framingham risk score (FRS) or atherogenic indices are risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis in patients with MB in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD).
Methods: We performed a retrospective study evaluating 155 patients who have MB in LAD. The patients were evaluated in two groups according to the presence of atherosclerosis (74 patients in atherosclerotic group vs. 81 patients in non-atherosclerotic group). Baseline characteristics, FRS and atherogenic indices were reviewed between groups. Significant independent risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis were investigated by logistic regression analysis.
Results: Patients in atherosclerotic group were significantly older (58.15 ± 10.04 vs. 50.22 ± 9.27 years, p < .001) and 74.3% of the patients were male. While the mean FRS in the atherosclerotic group was 21.20 ± 8.81, it was 12.79 ± 8.61 in the non-atherosclerotic group (p < .001). Among the atherogenic indices, only LDL-c/HDL-c ratio was significantly higher in the atherosclerotic group (3.49 ± 1.2 vs. 3.11 ± 0.98, p:.033). Multivariable analysis showed that age (OR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13, p < .001) and FRS (OR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.11, p:.012) were independently associated with the presence of atherosclerotic lesion.
Conclusions: FRS is an easily applicable predictor in clinical practice that indicates the presence of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with MB in LAD.
Keywords: Framingham risk score; Myocardial bridge; left anterior descending artery.