title: Multiple coronary lesion instability in patients with acute myocardial infarction as determined by optical coherence tomography.
abstract: Autopsy studies have suggested that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) represents a pan-coronary process of vulnerable plaque development. We performed multifocal optical coherence tomographic (OCT) examination to compare coronary lesion instability between AMI and stable angina pectoris (SAP). A total of 42 patients with AMI (n = 26) or SAP (n = 16) who had multivessel disease and underwent multivessel coronary intervention were enrolled in the present study. The OCT examination was performed not only in the infarct-related/target lesions, but also in the noninfarct-related/nontarget lesions. OCT-derived thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) was defined as a lesion with a fibrous cap thickness of <65 microm. In the infarct-related/target lesions, plaque rupture (77% vs 7%, p <0.001) and intracoronary thrombus (100% vs 0%, p <0.001) were observed more frequently in AMI than in SAP. The fibrous cap thickness (57 + or - 12 vs 180 + or - 65 microm, p <0.001) was significantly thinner in AMI and the frequency of OCT-derived TCFA (85% vs 13%, p <0.001) was significantly greater in AMI than in SAP. In the noninfarct-related/nontarget lesions, the frequency of plaque rupture was not different between the 2 groups. Intracoronary thrombus was observed in 8% of AMI, but it was not found in SAP. The fibrous cap thickness (111 + or - 65 vs 181 + or - 70 microm, p = 0.002) was significantly thinner in AMI and the frequency of OCT-derived TCFA (38% vs 6%, p = 0.030) was significantly greater in AMI than in SAP. Multiple OCT-derived TCFAs in both the infarct-related/target and the noninfarct-related/nontarget lesions were observed in 38% of patients with AMI but not in patients with SAP (p = 0.007). In conclusion, the present OCT examination demonstrated multiple lesion instability in the presence of AMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imanishi
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashiwagi
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikejima
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsujioka
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuroi
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komukai
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ino
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitabata
authors.forename: Shigeho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takarada
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizukoshi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akasaka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence