MONDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Lesions believed to precipitate heart attacks can be found in many hearts, but within individual hearts they are limited in number and concentrated in specific areas of the coronary arteries, according to study findings published in the Sept. 4 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Aloke V. Finn, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues dissected 50 hearts: 33 from those who died of cardiovascular causes, 13 from those who died from non-cardiovascular causes and four from those who died of unknown causes (64 percent male; mean age 73 years). Longitudinal arterial sections were analyzed to identify advanced coronary lesions.
At least one thin-capped fibroatheroma or ruptured plaque was found in 20 of the hearts examined (40 percent), but an average of only 2.1 lesions of either type was found in each of those 20 hearts. Most thin-capped fibroatheroma or ruptured plaques were clustered in the proximal left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries. In a variety of advanced lesions, an inverse relationship was observed between necrotic core size and cap thickness.
"Assessing several characteristics of a given plaque could potentially enhance invasive risk stratification by identifying very high-risk plaques," note the authors of an accompanying editorial, "thereby lowering the number of vulnerable plaques that deserve to be followed over time and ultimately treated."
Several of the study authors are employed by or own stock in InfraReDx Inc., which funded the study.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial
