Coronary artery disease in asymptomatic young adults: its prevalence according to coronary artery disease risk stratification and the CT characteristics.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed at evaluating the prevalence and CT characteristics of occult coronary artery disease (CAD) in young Korean adults under 40 years of age by performing coronary CT angiography (CCTA).


METHODS
We retrospectively enrolled 112 consecutive asymptomatic subjects (90 men, mean age: 35.6 +/- 3.7 years) who underwent CCTA as part of a general health evaluation. We classified the subjects into three National Cholesterol Education Program risk categories and we assessed the plaque characteristics on CCTA according to the number of involved vessels, the location and type of plaques and vascular remodeling.


RESULTS
Twelve individuals had CAD (11%, 11 men). The prevalence of CAD was significantly higher in the subgroups with moderate (22%) or high (25%) risk than that in the low risk subgroup (5%) (p < 0.05). Nine patients had single-vessel disease and three patients had two-vessel disease. The most common location for plaque was the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (60%). All the patients had non-significant stenosis and plaque, including the non-calcified (27%), mixed (47%) and calcified (27%) types. Positive vascular remodeling was identified in all the patients with non-calcified or mixed plaques.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of occult CAD was not negligible in the asymptomatic young adults with moderate to high risk, and this suggests the importance of management and risk factor modification in this population. All the patients had non-significant stenosis, and one fourth of the plaques did not show calcification.
Ha
Eun Ju
EJ
Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 158-710, Korea.
Kim
Yookyung
Y
Cheung
Joo Yeon
JY
Shim
Sung Shine
SS
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003287:Contrast Media; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media