Comparison of coronary sinus diameter of healthy people with patients suffering coronary artery disease using transthoracic echocardiography

in coronary artery stenosis blood flow into heart veins and coronary sinus (CS) vein decreases appreciably. Standard methods of coronary sinus blood flow (CSBF) measurement by catheterism or radionuclide imaging are invasive .Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was used for noninvasive estimation of CSBF ,but it may be not accurate because of some difficulties in blood velocity measurement in CS. we planned to study the relationship between CS diameters in TTE with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients suspected to have coronary lesion. TTE was performed for 36 patients who were referred for coronary artery angiography (CAG) in a cross sectional study. CS diameter recorded in all of them a day before CAG and results compared with CAG, finally. CS diameter showed obvious relationship to significant CAD in present study (p≤0,001).there is also a relation between number of stenotic coronary arteries and CS diameter. It seems CS diameter measurement by TTE can be used as an easy, noninvasive, accessible method of screening of CAD.