Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Vulnerability of Culprit Plaque Assessed by OCT in Patients With Established Coronary Artery Disease
Authors' conclusion
Patients with a CACS of 0 have a significantly lower prevalence of vulnerable plaque features compared with those with CACS >0 in patients with established coronary artery disease.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with established CAD who had coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and OCT before PCI
- Participants
- 460 patients
- Exposure
- CACS of 0 vs CACS >0
- Outcome
- OCT-derived vulnerable features in culprit plaque
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of vulnerable culprit plaque features
Lipid-rich plaque
P < 0.001
Macrophage
P < 0.001
Thin-cap fibroatheroma
P = 0.013
Cholesterol crystal
P = 0.004
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Vulnerable features across 5 CACS groups (0, 1–99, 100–399, 400–999, ≥1000)
- Lipid-rich plaque, macrophage and cholesterol crystal prevalence differed significantly among the 5 groups, lowest with CACS of 0
- Thin-cap fibroatheroma tended to be lower with CACS of 0
- No significant difference in vulnerable features between the 4 groups with CACS >0
Original publication
Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Vulnerability of Culprit Plaque Assessed by OCT in Patients With Established Coronary Artery Disease. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 20 December 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →