When you have
completed review of this screen, please click the "Next page" blue arrow
for the second portion of this section.
The LAO view with a 15 to 30 degrees cranial angulation is an excellent
view that:
lays out the left main coronary artery
lays out the proximal left anterior descending
artery
projects the origin and trunk of the ramus
intermediate and first diagonal downwards to avoid overlap by
the proximal circumflex.
The rotating animation on the left demonstrates the left coronary
artery in the 25 degrees CRANIAL projection with varying degrees of
LAO rotation (15, 30 and 45 degrees). Notice how each rotation differs
in its ability to display the origin of the Dx, OM, LPLA and LAD.
For example, there is severe overlap of the OM and LPLA branches in
the LAO 15 view but not in the LAO 50 projection, and even this may
differ from one patient to the next. Thus, there is no magical projection
that can be applied to all patients.
The projections need to be tailored to fit
a specific need. This is all the more importance when one attempts to
rule out disease in a specific segment of a branch, or when tries to
clear overlapping vessels during a percutaneous coronary intervention.
NOTE: CRANIAL VIEWS
ARE BETTER FOR DISPLAYING THE Dx BRANCHES WHILE CAUDAL VIEWS ARE USUALLY
NEEDED FOR SEPARATING THE OM BRANCHES . When you have completed
review of this screen, please click the "Next page" blue arrow for the
second portion of this section.
