A method is developed to allow cardiologists to find changes in the blood flow rate in larger coronary arteries, caused by the appearance of their pathological tortuosity, and a hemodynamic significance of those changes based on the data taken from the appropriate coronarographies only. This method is based on replacement of blood flows in the originally healthy and subsequently pathologically tortuous artery with the corresponding averaged ones, and subsequent calculation of flow characteristics of interest in terms of the corresponding averaged flow parameters. It allows one not to take account of a number of identical factors for the originally healthy and subsequently pathologically tortuous segment of the investigated artery, and gives one the possibility to determine the flow parameters of concern at any time after carrying out a coronarography. In addition, it is not associated with solving complicated technical problems, and does not require special facility to be used, special professional training and significant expenses. The method was successfully tested in-vitro and then successfully applied to appropriate patients. It was found that the hemodynamic significance of the tortuosity generally increases as the number of the tortuosity arcs increases. Also, strong correlation between appropriate tortuosity and patient’s clinical characteristics was established, that confirms strong independent influence of the tortuosity on the clinical symptoms of appropriate patients. The critical values for the number of the tortuosity arcs, the relative blood flow rate loss and the rate of angina pectoris attacks were obtained, starting from which the corresponding tortuosity can be hemodynamically significant.
severe coronary artery tortuosity; cardiac syndrome X; blood flow rate