title: Transesophageal echocardiographic detection of thoracic aortic plaque could noninvasively predict significant obstructive coronary artery disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous pathologic and roentgenographic studies have suggested a relation between aortic plaque and coronary artery disease but have lacked clinical utility. The study was undertaken to elucidate whether atherosclerotic aortic plaque detected by transesophageal echocardiography can be a clinically useful marker for significant obstructive coronary artery disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and angiographic features and intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic findings were prospectively analyzed in 131 consecutive patients (58 women and 73 men, aged 17 to 75 years [mean 54 +/- 12]) undergoing open heart surgery. Significant obstructive coronary artery disease was defined as > or = 50% stenosis of > or = 1 major branch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-six (58%) of 131 patients were found to have obstructive coronary artery disease. In 76 patients with significant coronary artery disease, 71 had thoracic aortic plaque. In contrast, aortic plaque existed in only 10 of the remaining 55 patients with normal or minimally abnormal coronary arteries. The presence of aortic plaque on transesophageal echocardiographic studies had a sensitivity of 93%, a specificity of 82% and positive and negative predictive values of 88% and 90%, respectively, for significant coronary artery disease. There was a significant relationship between the degree of aortic intimal changes and the severity of coronary artery disease (r = 0.74, P < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of patient age, sex, risk factors of cardiovascular disease and transesophageal, echocardiographic findings revealed that atherosclerotic aortic plaque was the most significant independent predictor of coronary artery disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that transesophageal echocardiographic detection of atherosclerotic plaque in the thoracic aorta is useful in the noninvasive prediction of the presence and severity of coronary artery disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Rhim
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors