Right Coronary Artery Dominance in Cadaveric Human Hearts in Department of Anatomy of a Medical College: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiac coronary dominance plays a significant role in different clinical conditions and diseases of the heart. As the people of developing and developed nations are having global coronary artery diseases, it is mandatory to have knowledge of coronary artery diseases including cardiac coronary dominance. The aim of this study is to find out the prevalence of the right coronary artery dominance in cadaveric human hearts in a medical college. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all 52 preserved hearts as well as the heart isolated from cadavers obtained from the teaching hospital. The study was conducted from 24th June, 2020 to 24th December, 2020 after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2306202004). All cadaveric heart specimens were laelled with numbers and photographed for easy description of anatomical variation related to the coronary artery. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2007 and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Point estimate at 90% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Results: Out of 52 undissected isolated cadaveric hearts, the right cardiac dominance was found in 42 (80.76%) (71.77-89.75 at 90% Confidence Interval). The mean diameter of the right coronary artery was found to be 4.06±0.55 mm. Conclusions: The prevalence of right cardiac dominance in isolated cadaveric hearts was similar to the studies done in a similar setting.