The aim of this study was to evaluate optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) versus coronary angiography in the assessment of target lesion calcification and its ...effect on stent expansion.
IVUS is more sensitive than angiography in the detection of coronary artery calcium, but the relationship among IVUS, OCT, and angiography has not been studied.
Overall, 440 lesions (440 patients with stable angina) underwent OCT- and IVUS-guided stent implantation. Coronary calcification was evaluated using: 1) angiography; 2) IVUS (maximum calcium angle and the surface pattern); and 3) OCT (mean and maximum calcium angle, calcium length, and maximum calcium thickness).
Median patient age was 66 years, and 82.5% were men. Among 440 lesions, calcium was detected by angiography in 40.2%, IVUS in 82.7%, and OCT in 76.8%. The maximum calcium angle, maximum calcium thickness, and calcium length by OCT or IVUS increased in relation to the increasing severity of angiographically visible calcium. In 13.2% of lesions with IVUS-detected calcium, calcium was either not visible or was underestimated (>90° smaller maximum arc) by OCT mostly due to superficial OCT plaque attenuation. In 21.6% of lesions with IVUS calcium angle >180°, angiography did not detect any calcium; these lesions had thinner and shorter calcium deposits as assessed using OCT, and final minimum stent area was larger compared to those with angiographically visible calcium. In lesions with thinner calcium deposits by OCT, IVUS detected a smooth surface with reverberations whereas thick calcium deposits were associated with an irregular surface without reverberations.
Angiographic detection of target lesion coronary calcium (compared to intravascular imaging) has not changed in the past 2 decades, and angiographically invisible calcium (only detectable by IVUS or OCT) did not appear to inhibit stent expansion.
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This study sought to determine the anatomic characteristics and clinical presentation associated with a calcified nodule (CN) as assessed by optical coherence tomography.
CN is an unusual but ...demonstrable cause of acute coronary syndromes (ACS).
We studied 889 de novo culprit lesions in 889 patients (48% ACS) who underwent optical coherence tomography before intervention. CN was defined as an eruptive accumulation of nodular calcification (small fractured calcifications). Using quantitative coronary angiography, the change in the angle of the lesion between diastole and systole was measured (angiographic Δ angle).
CN was seen in 4.2% of all lesions and was located more frequently in the ostial or mid right coronary artery. Hemodialysis (odds ratio: 4.0; 95% confidence interval: 1.1 to 13.4; p = 0.04), in-lesion angiographic Δ angle (odds ratio: 1.09; 95% confidence interval: 1.05 to 1.14; p < 0.001), and maximum calcium arc by optical coherence tomography (odds ratio: 1.02; 95% confidence interval: 1.01 to 1.02; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the presence of a CN in the multivariable model. When we compared CNs in patients with ACS versus stable angina presentation, there was a smaller minimum lumen area (1.04 mm2 first quartile, third quartile: 0.69, 1.26 vs. 1.61 first quartile, third quartile: 1.03, 2.06 mm2; p = 0.02) accompanied by more thrombus (82.4% vs. 20.0%; p < 0.001) in CN lesions with ACS presentation. In lesions with severe calcification (maximum calcium arc >180°), 30% of ACS culprit lesions contained a CN, and the presence of a CN was associated with ACS presentation independent of other vulnerable plaque morphologies.
The presence of a CN was associated with severe calcification and larger hinge movement of the coronary artery (especially ostial and mid right coronary artery). One-third of the underlying plaque morphology of severely calcified culprit lesions in patients with ACS was caused by a CN.
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Background: Fractional flow reserve (FFR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) provides prognostic information, but limited data are available regarding prognostication using post-PCI ...coronary flow reserve (CFR). In this study we aimed to assess the prognostic value of post-procedural FFR and CFR for target vessel failure (TVF) after PCI.Methods and Results: This lesion-based post-hoc pooled analysis of previously published registry data involved 466 patients with chronic coronary syndrome with single-vessel disease who underwent pre- and post-PCI FFR and CFR measurements, and were followed-up to determine the predictors of TVF. The prognostic value of post-PCI CFR and FFR was compared with that of FFR or CFR alone. Post-PCI FFR/CFR discordant results were observed in 42.5%, and 10.3% of patients had documented TVF. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the optimal cutoff values of post-PCI FFR and CFR to predict the occurrence of TVF were 0.85 and 2.26, respectively. Significant differences in TVF were detected according to post-PCI FFR (≤0.85 vs. >0.85, P=0.007) and post-PCI CFR (<2.26 vs. ≥2.26, P<0.001). Post-PCI FFR ≤0.85 and post-PCI CFR <2.26 were independent prognostic predictors.Conclusions: After PCI completion, discordant results between FFR and CFR were not uncommon. Post-PCI CFR categorization showed incremental prognostic value for predicting TVF independent of post-PCI FFR risk stratification.
Both fractional flow reserve (FFR) and global coronary flow reserve (g-CFR) provide prognostic information in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Inflammation plays a vital role in ...impaired endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic progression, potentially predicting cardiovascular mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the physiological significance of pericoronary adipose tissue inflammation assessed by CT attenuation (PCATA) in epicardial functional stenosis severity and g-CFR in patients with CAD. A total of 131 CAD patients with a single de novo epicardial coronary stenosis who underwent coronary CT-angiography (CCTA), phase-contrast cine-magnetic resonance imaging (PC-CMR) and FFR measurement were studied. PCATA was assessed using the mean CT attenuation value. G-CFR was obtained by quantifying absolute coronary sinus flow (ml/min/g) by PC-CMR at rest and during maximum hyperemia. Median FFR, g-CFR, and PCATA values were 0.75, 2.59, and - 71.3, respectively. Serum creatinine, NT-proBNP, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, and PCATA were independently associated with g-CFR. PCATA showed a significant incremental predictive efficacy for impaired g-CFR (< 2.0) when added to the clinical risk model. PCATA was significantly associated with g-CFR, independent of FFR. Our results suggest the pathophysiological mechanisms linking perivascular inflammation with g-CFR in CAD patients.
We sought to investigate the characteristics and prognostic impact of healed plaque (HP) detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in non-culprit segments in treated vessels.
OCT analysis ...included HP having a different optical intensity with clear demarcation from underlying plaque, thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and minimal lumen area. Non-culprit lesion (NCL) was defined as a plaque with >90° arc of disease (≥0.5 mm intimal thickness), length ≥2 mm, and location >5 mm from the stent edges. Major adverse cardiac event (MACE) included cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), or ischemia-driven revascularization (IDR).
We studied a total of 726 NCLs in 538 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with evaluable non-culprit segments by OCT. The prevalence of an HP was 17.8% (129/726) per lesion and 21.9% (118/538) per patient. At median follow-up of 2.2 years, there were 65 NCL-related MACE events, including 6 MIs and 65 IDRs of which 87.7% had a stable presentation. The presence of untreated HP was positively correlated with subsequent NCL-related MACE (hazard ratio HR 2.01, 95% confidence interval CI, 1.20–3.37, p < 0.01). There were 16 IDRs with stable angina occurring at a specific OCT-imaged NCL where an untreated HP was positively associated with subsequent NCL-related MACE (HR 3.72, 95% CI 1.35–10.30, p = 0.01) along with TCFA (HR 10.0, 95% CI 3.20–31.40, p < 0.01) and minimal lumen area <3.5 mm2 (HR 7.42, 95% CI 2.07–26.60, p < 0.01).
An OCT-detected HP in an NCL is a marker for future (mostly) stable non-culprit-related MACE at both a patient- and lesion-level.
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•Untreated healed plaque in PCI target vessel was present in 22% of patients.•Untreated healed plaque was related to future non-culprit-related events.•Untreated healed plaque could be a marker of atherosclerotic lesion progression.
Background:Recent imaging studies reported an association between vascular inflammation and progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This study investigated the clinical significance of ...periaortic adipose tissue inflammation derived from multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA).Methods and Results:Patients with asymptomatic AAA (n=77) who underwent an index and >6 months follow-up MDCTA examinations were retrospectively investigated. MDCTA analysis included AAA diameter and the periaortic adipose tissue attenuation index (PAAI). The PAAI was defined as the mean CT attenuation value within a predefined range from −190 to −30 Hounsfield units of adipose tissue surrounding the AAA. The growth rate of the AAA was calculated as the change in diameter. AAA progression (AP) was defined as an AAA growth rate ≥5 mm/year. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the predictors of AP. AP was observed in 19 patients (24.7%), the median baseline AAA diameter was 38.9 mm (interquartile range IQR 32.7–42.9 mm), and the median growth rate was 3.1 mm/year (IQR 1.5–4.9 mm/year). Baseline AAA diameter (odds ratio OR 1.16; 95% confidence interval CI 1.05–1.28; P=0.001) and PAAI (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.05–1.20; P=0.004) were independent predictors of AP.Conclusions:PAAI was an independent and significant predictor of AP, supporting the notion that local adipose tissue inflammation may contribute to aortic remodeling.
The benefit of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been reported to be associated with functional stenosis severity defined by fractional flow reserve (FFR). This study aimed to investigate ...the predictive ability of preprocedural transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TDE) for increased coronary flow. A total of 50 left anterior descending arteries (LAD) that underwent TDE examinations were analysed. Hyperaemic LAD diastolic peak velocity (hDPV) was used as a surrogate of volumetric coronary flow. The increase in coronary flow was evaluated by the metric of % hDPV-increase defined by 100× (post-PCI hDPV-pre-PCI hDPV)/pre-PCI hDPV. The two groups divided by the median value of % hDPV-increase were compared, and the determinants of a significant coronary flow increase defined as more than the median % hDPV-increase were explored. After PCI, FFR values improved in all cases. hDPV significantly increased from 53.0 to 76.0 mm/s (P < 0.01) and the median % hDPV-increase was 45%, while hDPV decreased in 10 patients. On multivariable analysis, pre-PCI FFR and hDPV were independent predictors of a significant coronary flow increase. Preprocedural TDE-derived hDPV provided significant improvement of identification of lesions that benefit from revascularisation with respect to significant coronary flow increase.
Background:The risks of ventricular fibrillation (Vfib) associated with frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT)/optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) remain undetermined.Methods and ...Results:We retrospectively studied the occurrence of Vfib during OCT/OFDI for unselected indications. The frequency of Vfib and patient and procedural characteristics were investigated. A total of 4,467 OCT/OFDI pullback examinations were performed in 1,754 patients (median of 2.0 2.0–3.0 pullbacks for 1.0 1.0–1.3 vessels). OCT/OFDI was performed during PCI in 899 patients (51.3%). The contrast injection volume per pullback was 14.4 (11.7–17.2) mL with a flow rate of 3.4 (3.2–3.5) mL/s. Vfib occurred in 31 pullbacks (0.69%) in 30 patients (1.7%). No cases of Vfib occurred when using low-molecular-weight dextran. On multivariate analysis, contrast volume was the only independent factor for predicting Vfib (odds ratio, 1.080; 95% confidence interval, 1.008–1.158, P=0.029). The best cutoff value of contrast volume for predicting Vfib was 19.2 mL (area under the curve, 0.713, P<0.001; diagnostic accuracy, 87.1%).Conclusions:The present large, single-center registry study indicated that Vfib during OCT/OFDI was rare for unselected indications. Contrast injection volume used to displace blood should be limited to avoid Vfib.
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