Atherogenic anatomical patterns of coronary arteries branching related to cardiac and non-cardiac causes of death.

A gross and light microscopic study carried out on 102 selected male subjects aged 51-70 who died of ischemic heart disease and on 102 selected, male subjects of similar age, who died of noncardiac causes revealed that: in subjects who died of ischemic heart disease the prevalence of atherogenic deviations from the common type of distribution of the coronary arteries was 2-4 times greater than in subjects who died of non-cardiac causes; subjects who died of ischemic heart disease, with the atherogenic deviations from the common tape of distribution of the coronary arteries showed an increased number of stenotic atherosclerotic plaques and a particular propensity to "clustering" of these lesions, predominantly around branch mouths.