title: The site of plaque rupture in native coronary arteries: a three-vessel intravascular ultrasound analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the axial location of plaque ruptures in native coronary arteries.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  It is clinically important to understand the potential sites of plaque rupture.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed three-vessel intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examination in 392 patients; 231 had acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 161 had stable angina pectoris (SAP). The IVUS detected plaque ruptures in 206 patients: 158 ACS patients and 48 SAP patients. The distance between each coronary plaque rupture segment and the respective coronary ostium was measured with motorized IVUS transducer pullback in all three coronary arteries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were a total of 273 plaque ruptures in these 206 patients; 143 in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), 40 in the left circumflex artery (LCX), and 90 in the right coronary artery (RCA). There were 67 plaque ruptures in SAP patients and 206 in ACS patients; there were 197 culprit/target lesion plaque ruptures and 76 non-culprit/non-target lesion plaque ruptures. The LAD plaque ruptures were predominantly located between 10 and 40 mm from the LAD ostium (83%, 119 of 143). The LCX plaque ruptures were evenly distributed in the entire LCX tree. Most RCA plaque ruptures were located in segments between 10 and 40 mm (48%, 43 of 90) and in segments >70 mm from the ostium (32%, 29 of 90).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three-vessel IVUS imaging showed that plaque ruptures occurred mainly in proximal segments of the LAD (83% of LAD plaque rupture), the proximal and distal segments of the RCA (48% and 32% of RCA plaque ruptures, respectively), and the entire LCX.
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Myeong-Ki
authors: MK
authors: Hong
authors: Gary S
authors: GS
authors: Mintz
authors: Cheol Whan
authors: CW
authors: Lee
authors: Bong-Ki
authors: BK
authors: Lee
authors: Tae-Hyun
authors: TH
authors: Yang
authors: Young-Hak
authors: YH
authors: Kim
authors: Jong-Min
authors: JM
authors: Song
authors: Ki-Hoon
authors: KH
authors: Han
authors: Duk-Hyun
authors: DH
authors: Kang
authors: Sang-Sig
authors: SS
authors: Cheong
authors: Jae-Kwan
authors: JK
authors: Song
authors: Jae-Joong
authors: JJ
authors: Kim
authors: Seong-Wook
authors: SW
authors: Park
authors: Seung-Jung
authors: SJ
authors: Park
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D013577:Syndrome; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional