title: Total coronary artery plaque burden measured by cardiac computed tomography is associated with metabolic syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increased coronary plaque burden, which could be involved in the pathogenesis of atherothrombotic events, is difficult to evaluate in the three major coronary arteries. The purpose of this study was to quantify coronary plaque volume using 64-slice computed tomography (CT).
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured coronary plaque volume with our new protocol in 23 consecutive patients (48% men; 66 ± 11 years old) who underwent cardiac CT for suspicion of coronary artery disease and had noncalcified plaques. We counted the total pixel volume of noncalcified plaques in the three major coronary arteries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The coronary plaque volume was 1.29 ± 0.56 cm(3) in the right coronary artery, 1.29 ± 0.42cm(3) in the left main coronary artery and left anterior descending artery, and 0.88 ± 0.32 cm(3) in the left circumflex artery. The total coronary plaque burden (TCPB) was 3.45 ± 1.02 cm(3)/patient and had a positive correlation with waist circumference (r =0.44, p < 0.05) and insulin resistance (r = 0.46, p < 0.05). TCPB was significantly greater in men (3.89 ± 1.07 cm(3) vs. 3.06 ± 0.82 cm(3) in women, p < 0.05), patients with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance (3.77 ± 0.94 cm(3) vs. 2.86 ± 0.92 cm(3) in non-diabetics, p < 0.05), and patients with metabolic syndrome (3.91 ± 0.95 cm(3) vs. 3.03 ± 0.91 cm(3) in patients without metabolic syndrome, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac CT can provide a noninvasive assessment of TCPB, which was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome and its components. Measuring TCPB by CT could be an important strategy for identifying high-risk patients with suspected coronary artery disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugamura
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nozaki
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohba
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sumida
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagayoshi
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Utsunomiya
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Awai
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuzawa
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Umemura
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogawa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed