title: Ubiquitous atherosclerosis in coronary arteries without angiographically significant stenosis.
abstract: Previous intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) studies have shown coronary artery atherosclerosis even in angiographically normal reference segment. However, IVUS has not been performed in all of the three major coronary arteries. A total of 50 patients with single-vessel disease underwent IVUS evaluation in the proximal two-thirds of the three major coronary arteries. Lumen and external elastic membrane cross-sectional areas were measured at 1-mm intervals. To compensate the difference in pullback length among coronary arteries, normalized total plaque and media volume (TPV) was calculated as TPV/number of slices in pullback x median number of slices in study population. Percent plaque and media volume (PPV) was calculated as TPV/Sigma external elastic membrane cross-sectional area x 100. A cross section was defined as atherosclerotic if maximum intimal thickness exceeded 0.5 mm at any point in the vessel circumference. There was no significant difference in normalized TPV, PPV, and the incidence of abnormal intimal thickness between coronary arteries with and without significant stenosis. Frequency distribution of plaque burden was similar. Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous even in coronary arteries without angiographically significant stenosis. The extent of atherosclerosis is similar between coronary arteries with and without significant stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Science and Medicine, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishio
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitahara
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Nakabumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Issei
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Komuro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional