For decades, we have known from autopsy observations that the proximate cause of the majority of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is occlusive thrombosis generated by plaque rupture or, less frequently, superficial erosion.1-3 Mounting evidence supports the concept that these two substrates are separate entities, with distinct pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and prognosis.4-9 Yet, when ACS patients present to the emergency department with ischemic symptoms, we still triage them exclusively based on the presence or absence of ST-segment elevation on electrocardiogram and/or on troponin levels, assess them using coronary angiography, and manage them almost invariably with percutaneous coronary intervention ...

Background and aims Plaque erosion (PE) is responsible for at least one-third of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and inflammation plays a key role in plaque instability. We assessed the presence of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-defined macrophage infiltrates (MØI) at the culprit site in ACS patients with PE, evaluating their clinical and OCT correlates, along with their prognostic value. Methods ACS patients undergoing OCT imaging and presenting PE as culprit lesion were retrospectively selected. Presence of MØI at culprit site was assessed. The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), defined as the composite of cardiac death, recurrent ...

Background and aims Although coronary artery calcium (CAC) density has been associated with plaque stability, pathological evidence is lacking. We investigated the relationship between coronary computed tomography (CCT)-derived CAC density and multiple calcified and high-risk plaque (HRP) characteristics using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods We analyzed 83 plaques from 33 stable angina patients who underwent both CCT and OCT. CAC density was measured at calcium plaques with >90 Hounsfield units (HU) and >130 HU using custom CT software. The correlation between median CAC density and OCT-derived calcium size (thickness and area) was assessed. To investigate whether median CAC densities ...

Atherosclerosis is a dynamic systemic disease leading to progressive arterial plaque accumulation that is associated with a proportional increase in the risk of major adverse clinical events (MACE). Progression is non-linear and related to cycles of plaque destabilisation, erosion or rupture, which only occasionally result in MACE and mostly are followed by healing 1 . In clinical practice, healed plaque can be detected using optical coherence tomography (OCT). OCT utilises near infrared light for intra-coronary imaging and has a high resolution (10-20 μm), which is 10-20 times better than intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and 20-40 times better than coronary CT-angiography. OCT is ...

Background and Aims 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. Methods 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 >90º arc of disease (≥0.5mm 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). Results We studied a total of ...

Background and aims Endothelial glycocalyx covers the endothelium and maintains vascular integrity. However, its association with the severity and vulnerability of coronary artery disease (CAD) remains to be elucidated. Methods A total of 259 consecutive patients with stable CAD requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were prospectively enrolled. Patients were classified into 2 groups according to the median value of serum syndecan-1, which is a core component of the endothelial glycocalyx (lower syndecan-1 group [syndecan-1 <99.0 ng/mL], n = 130; higher syndecan-1 group [syndecan-1 ≥99.0 ng/mL], n = 129). Severity of CAD and focal plaque vulnerability in culprit lesion ...

Background and aims Ceramides (Cer) is an atherogenic substance. However, the associations between specific plasma Cer levels and culprit plaque morphology in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients are unclear. Methods The study consisted of two parallel cohorts. 100 consecutive patients with STEMI were screened as discovery cohort. In the validation cohort, we separately screened 30 normal donors, 30 stable angina pectoris (SAP) and 315 STEMI patients. All STEMI patients underwent emergency percutaneous intervention (PCI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination for culprit plaque. Based on established diagnostic criteria, STEMI patients were classified into plaque rupture (PR) and plaque erosion ...

Background and aims Elevated pentraxin-3 (PTX3) values are associated with vulnerable plaque existence and poor outcomes in acute coronary syndrome patients. The clinical significance of PTX3 values in stable angina pectoris (SAP) patients is, however, undetermined. We investigated the relationship of systemic PTX3 values and coronary plaque components and post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) outcomes in SAP patients. Methods We included 93 consecutive de-novo lesions in 93 SAP patients with a normal pre-PCI high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (<0.014 ng/mL), undergoing pre- and post-PCI optical coherence tomography (OCT). Systemic PTX3 values were obtained immediately pre- and post-PCI, at 24-h and 9-month ...

Background and aims Significant macrophages infiltration in advanced atherosclerotic plaques promotes acute coronary events. Hence, the clinical imaging of macrophage content in coronary atherosclerotic plaques could potentially aid in identifying patients most at risk of future acute coronary events. The aim of this study was to introduce and validate a simple intravascular optical coherence tomography (IV-OCT) image processing method for automated, accurate and fast detection of macrophage infiltration within coronary atherosclerotic plaques. Methods This method calculates the ratio of the normalized-intensity standard deviation (NSD) values estimated over two axially-adjacent regions of interest in an IV-OCT cross-sectional image (B-scan). When applied ...

Background and aims About 20% of patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) are young adults. Morphological characteristics of culprit lesion in young STEMI patients have not been systematically evaluated in vivo . The present study aimed to investigate culprit lesion characteristics in young patients versus older patients using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods 1442 STEMI patients who underwent OCT examination of culprit lesion were included and divided into young group (age ≤50 years, n = 400) and older group (age >50 years, n = 1042). Clinical characteristics, angiography and OCT findings were compared between the two groups. Results Culprit lesions in STEMI ...

Background and Aims: To investigate the effect of lipoprotein(a) level on coronary plaques in patients with coronary heart disease.

Background and Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of triple lipid-lowering therapy drugs and intravascular changes causing by Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

Background and aims The impact of late drug-eluting stent (DES) malapposition detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) on long-term clinical outcomes has not been clearly established. We evaluated long-term clinical outcomes of late stent malapposition (LSM) detected by OCT in a qualified study population. Methods A total of 428 patients were selected from previous randomized OCT studies that evaluated the degree of strut coverage of different DESs at a 3–12-month follow-up OCT examination. These patients were assigned to one of two groups based on the presence (n = 136) or absence (n = 292) of LSM on follow-up OCT images (performed ...

ackground and aims Although grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is commonly used for assessing coronary lesion morphology and optimizing stent implantation, detection of vulnerable plaques by IVUS remains challenging. We aimed to develop machine learning (ML) models for predicting optical coherence tomography-derived thin-cap fibroatheromas (OCT-TCFAs). Methods In 517 patients with angina, 414 and 103 coronary lesions were randomized into training vs. test sets. Each of the IVUS-OCT co-registered frames (including 32,807 for training and 8101 for test) was labeled according to the presence vs. absence of OCT-TCFA. Among 1449 computed IVUS features based on two-dimensional geometry and texture, 17 features ...

Background and aims Intraplaque cholesterol crystal (CC) is recognized as a component of vulnerable plaques. However, the clinical characteristics of patients with CC and the impact of CC on clinical events remain unknown. Methods A total of 340 consecutive patients who underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of culprit lesions were included in the study. CC was defined as a thin linear structure with high reflectivity and low signal attenuation on OCT images. The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 1-year was compared between patients with CC (CC group) and those without CC (non-CC group). MACE included cardiac ...

Background and aims The aims of this study were to assess agreement between optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histopathology for healed coronary plaques (HCPs) in human coronary arteries ex vivo , and to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of HCPs in vivo . Methods Ex vivo OCT images were co-registered with histopathology in 144 cross-sections with ≥50% stenosis. Of these, 30 randomly selected pairs were employed to define morphological features of OCT for HCPs (OCT-derived HCPs); the remaining 114 pairs were used to evaluate the accuracy of OCT in detecting histologically-defined HCPs. In a clinical study, 60 target lesions from 60 patients ...

Background and aims Recent advancements in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) have allowed for the quantitative measurement of high-risk lipid rich plaque. Determination of the optimal threshold for Hounsfield units (HU) by CCTA for identifying lipid rich plaque remains unknown. We aimed to validate reliable cut-points of HU for quantitative assessment of lipid rich plaque. Methods 8 post-mortem sudden coronary death hearts were evaluated with CCTA and histologic analysis. Quantitative plaque analysis was performed in histopathology images and lipid rich plaque area was defined as intra-plaque necrotic core area. CCTA images were analyzed for quantitative plaque measurement. Low attenuation plaque ...

Background and aims High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been identified to be efficient for increasing health-related fitness in general and in lifestyle-induced chronic diseases such as hypertension, obesity and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to evaluate HIIT effects on optic nerve head (ONH) and macular perfusion in healthy adults using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods Fifty-eight healthy participants (22.0 ± 2.02 years, 40 females (69.0%)) performed a 4-week HIIT with two exercise sessions/week: Group 1, 4 × 30 HIIT, running at maximal speed (all-out) for 4 × 30 s with 30 s active recovery, Group 2, 8 × 15 ...

Background and aims Accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) can be measured non-invasively by skin autofluorescence (SAF) whose values are elevated in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an intravascular imaging modality that could allow visualization of plaque composition. We aim to examine the relationship between SAF and plaque composition evaluated by frequency-domain OCT in patients with CVD. Methods We prospectively enrolled 108 patients with CVD who underwent OCT images during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We divided the population into two groups: high SAF group (greater than or equal to 2.6) and low SAF ...

Aim: The use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or Optical coherence tomography (OCT) to guide stent placement in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) leads to better clinical outcomes than use of angiography guidance. We hypothesis which image-assisted PCI could lead better clinical outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Methods: Among 12, 193 patients enrolled the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction registry, 1,622 patients undergone image-assisted PCI were assigned to the IVUS-assisted PCI group (n=1406) or OCT-assisted PCI group (n=180). The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death, recurrent MI, including stent thrombosis, any revascularization and cerebrovascular accident (CVA ...

Background and aims This study examined the impact of CD14 ++ CD16 + monocytes on coronary plaque vulnerability, as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and investigated their association with daily glucose fluctuation. Although increased CD14 ++ CD16 + monocyte levels have been reported to increase cardiovascular events, their impact on coronary plaque vulnerability in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) remains unclear. Methods This prospective observational study included consecutive 50 patients with CAD receiving lipid-lowering therapy and undergoing coronary angiography and OCT. Patients were divided into 3 tertiles according to the CD14 ++ CD16 + monocyte percentages assessed by flow ...

Background and aims Whether coronary calcification is correlated with plaque/media shrinkage (PS) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the calcification process and PS, combining serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in vessels treated with bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS). Methods In 15 patients (16 vessels), OCT and IVUS images were matched using anatomic landmarks at post-procedure and five years. PS was defined as relative decrease in plaque/media area >5%. The association between the calcification process and PS was investigated. Mixed effects model was used to assess correlations and changes ...

Background and aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-macrophages and OCT findings after CoCr everolimus-eluting stent placement, in addition to coronary risk factors. Methods A total of 89 lesions in 89 patients were registered in the 1- and 3-month cohort of the multi-centre study. Lesion characteristics and post-procedure OCT images were evaluated immediately and 1 and 3 months after stenting. Patients were divided into low and high macrophage grade groups based on the median macrophage grade. Results Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, HbA1c and blood ...

Background and aims Recent epidemiological studies have showed that excessive intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) can be a residual risk for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) even under medical management, including statins. This study aimed at investigating the association between lipid profile, including serum TFA concentration, and plaque vulnerability using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods Level of serum elaidic acid, a major TFA component, was measured using gas chromatography in 161 consecutively enrolled patients with CAD under guideline-directed risk factor management. OCT was performed to evaluate morphological features of angiographic intermediate stenosis (30% < diameter of stenosis <70 ...