Oehler AC, et al. – Researchers intended to investigate the hypothesis that the relative degree of systolic longitudinal shortening of the left ventricle that deforms coaxially oriented coronary arteries is associated with tortuosity of the coronary arteries (TCA). The evidence showed that TCA is not correlated with increased LV mass but rather with smaller hearts that have greater relative longitudinal shortening of the left ventricle. The data illustrated that TCA could represent an adaptive response to longitudinal systolic distortion of coaxially oriented coronary arteries that dynamically produce shear stresses associated with expansive coronary remodeling.