Myocardial Bridging: A Meta‐Analysis of Prevalence

• Published in: Journal of forensic sciences Vol. 63; no. 4; pp. 1176 - 1185
• Main Authors: Hostiuc, Sorin, Negoi, Ionuț, Rusu, Mugurel C., Hostiuc, Mihaela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2018
• Subjects: Angiography; Autopsies; Autopsy; Bridges; Computed tomography; Coronary Angiography; Forensic Pathology; forensic science; Health risk assessment; Humans; In vivo methods and tests; length of myocardial bridges; Medical imaging; Meta-analysis; meta‐analysis of prevalence; myocardial bridging; Myocardial Bridging - diagnostic imaging; Myocardial Bridging - pathology; Prevalence; Tomography, X-Ray; computed tomography; meta-analysis of prevalence; forensic science; length of myocardial bridges; autopsy; coronary angiography; myocardial bridging
• ISSN: 0022-1198; 1556-4029
• DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13665

The main objective of this article was to analyze prevalence data about myocardial bridging (MB) in published studies. To this purpose, we performed a meta‐analysis of studies published in English literature that contained data about the prevalence of MB and its anatomical characteristics. The overall prevalence was 19% (CI: 17–21%); autopsy studies revealed an overall prevalence of 42% (CI: 30–55%), CT studies 22% (CI: 18–25%), and coronary angiography 6% (CI: 5–8%). Most bridges were located on the left anterior descending artery (82% overall, 63% on autopsy studies), had a mean thickness of 2.47 mm and a mean length of 19.3 mm. In conclusion, autopsy studies should be the gold standard in evaluating the actual prevalence of myocardial bridges, while in vivo high‐resolution CT scanning should be preferred to coronary angiography studies.