Transient myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery in acute inferior myocardial infarction.

We observed transient myocardial bridging of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in 18.75% (12 of the total 64) of the patients during acute inferior myocardial infarction (MI). Myocardial bridging occurred only in the acute phase of inferior MI and not in the chronic phase. In the acute phase of inferior MI, compensatory hypercontraction of the anterior wall is assumed to occur in response to the decrease in the movement of the infarct-related walls. In the chronic phase, disappearance of the myocardial bridging observed due to the resolution of compensatory anterior wall hypercontraction, as a result of the reperfusion of infarct-related coronary artery. Most of the myocardial bridges seen in autopsy series are not seen angiographically. Variation at angiography may in part be attributable to small and thin bridges causing little compression. Adrenergic stimulation or afterload reduction by nitroglycerin facilitates diagnosis of myocardial bridging by increasing coronary compression. Both of these conditions are almost always present in acute MI. We concluded that transient myocardial bridging of LAD can be observed in some patients with acute inferior MI during acute stage.