Coronary arteries were obtained from 198 cases of accidental sudden death. The intimal surface of both left and right branchs was examined to divide into 3 portions as follows: I, normal; II, slight change (lipid deposition, smoothly surfaced fibrous plaques); III, moderate plus severe change (plaques, necrosis and calcification). The extent of coronary atherosclerosis was measured by the wet weight ratio of sclerotic portion (wet weight ratio of II and III to total wet weight).
The correlations among 4 factors (age, right, left and total sclerotic weight ratios) were calculated by using a computer, HITAC 8700/8800. The coeffecient of correlation between right and left sclerotic weight ratios was 0.6801 (p<0.01). This was lower than the others. The coefficient of correlation between right and total and between left and total were 0.8901 (p<0.01) and 0.9171 (p<0.01), respectively. Those of age to right sclerotic weight ratio, age to left sclerotic weight ratio and age to total sclerotic weight ratio were 0.3862, 0.4024 and 0.4217, respectively.
In the coronary artery, the atherosclerosis seemed to advance in a different manner between right left branchs. Closed relation, however, was obtained between coronary arteriosclerosis and aging under the present condition.