Importance of left anterior descending coronary artery curvature in determining cross-sectional plaque distribution assessed by intravascular ultrasound.
We assessed the relation between the circumferential distribution of coronary atherosclerotic plaques and the structure of the epicardial coronary arteries in patients with coronary artery disease using intravascular ultrasound in vivo. Coronary atherosclerosis preferentially formed at the inner arc of the curved coronary vessels, and greater vessel curvatures were associated with greater distributions of atherosclerotic lesions along the inner coronary artery wall.
The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
T
T
Iwami
T
T
Fujii
T
T
Miura
N
N
Otani
H
H
Iida
A
A
Kawamura
S
S
Yoshitake
M
M
Kohno
Y
Y
Hisamatsu
H
H
Iwamoto
M
M
Matsuzaki
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional