Clinical study of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques detection by using intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology

Objective To compare the tissue characteristics of the atherosclerotic plaques in acute coronary syndrome(ACS)and stable angina(SA)patients by intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology(IVUS-VH)and assess their clinical correlates with plasma lipoprotein.Methods In 16 ACS patients and 15 SA patients,culprit lesions were detected with IVUS-VH to investigate the characteristics of the atherosclerotic plaque and its clinical relevance.Results ACS patients presented a significantly higher prevalence of vulnerable plaques than SA patients(P0.05).A clear clustering pattern,consisted mainly of fibro-fatty tissue and necrotic core-rich tissue,was seen along the ACS coronaries.There were higher levels of fibrous tissue and dense cacium tissue in SA patients compared with ACS patients.In these two groups,fabro-fatty tissue correlates positively with the plasmic LDL levels(r=0.08,P0.05),and negatively with the plasmic HDL levels(r=-0.06,P0.05).Conclusion As shown by IVUS-VH,the prevalence of vulnerable plaque in ACS patients was much higher than in SA patients,coupled with different intra-plaque composition,which was associated with serum lipid level.