Angina Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Angina, including details on symptoms, treatment, causes, prevention, surgery.

Multiple coronary lesion instability in patients with acute myocardial infarction as determined by optical coherence tomography.

Kubo T, Imanishi T, Kashiwagi M, Ikejima H, Tsujioka H, Kuroi A, Ishibashi K, Komukai K, Tanimoto T, Ino Y, Kitabata H, Takarada S, Tanaka A, Mizukoshi M, Akasaka T

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.

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.

Published 27 January 2010 in Am J Cardiol, 105(3): 318-22.
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