Thecoronary arteriesrun along the surface of theheartand supply the heart muscle with blood.
Like the other coronary arteries, the posterior descending artery can be affected bycoronary artery disease.
Several large coronary artery branches arise from this crown, supplying blood to different portions of the heart.
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Anatomical Variations
Coronary artery anatomy varies a great deal from person to person.
The posterior descending artery arises near the crux cordis, where the atrioventricular groove meets the posterior interventricular sulcus.
It travels along the sulcus, lengthwise along the cone, along the bottom of the heart.
Function
The posterior interventricular artery supplies blood to the hearts posterior, or bottom, portion.
While many variants cause no symptoms, some may be significant.
The posterior interventricular artery may be very small in some patients.
This anomaly usually does not cause symptoms.
Surgery
The fact that there is so much variability in coronary artery anatomy is important in itself.
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries.
It can lead toheart failure,arrhythmias,myocardial infarction, and other complications.
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