J Korean Soc Echocardiogr.  1998 Jul;6(1):76-81.

Plaque Morphology in Acute Coronary Syndrome: An Intravascular Ultrasound Study

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Cardiology, Dong-A University, School of Medicine, Pusan, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Plaque rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque is an important pathophysiologic mechanism of acute coronary syndrorne(acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina). Plaque rupture and resulting thrombus formation could be identified by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), even though the sensitivity was variable in previous reports. We sought to know the morphologic characteristics, incidence of plaque rupture and thrombus formation by ultrasound in patients with acute coronary syndrome. METHOD: Between April and Septernber 1997, 23 admitted patients who was diagnosed as unstable angina or acute rnyocardial infarction was included. We performed coronary angiography with IVUS examination within 2 weeks. Atherosclerotic plaque was classified into soft, fibrous, calcific, and mixed plaque, and plaque rupture was defined as rupture of fibrous cap with discontinuity and / or backflow into plaque. Thrombus was defined as a scintillating, movable mass or layering materials that could be distinguished from underlying plaque.
RESULTS
Most of the plaques were soft and mixed types(14 and 6, out of 23 cases). Plaque rupture could be identified only in small portion(6 cases, 26%) of the cases. Thrombus was noted in 12 cases(52%). 4 cases showed both plaque rupture and thrombus.
CONCLUSION
Soft plaque is the most frequent plaque pye in acute coronary syndrome. IVUS is a useful tool to identify the morphologic features of the plaque such as rupture and thrombus formation.

Keyword

Acute coronary syndrome; Plaque rupture; Thrombus

MeSH Terms

Acute Coronary Syndrome*
Angina, Unstable
Coronary Angiography
Humans
Incidence
Infarction
Myocardial Infarction
Plaque, Atherosclerotic
Rupture
Thrombosis
Ultrasonography*
Full Text Links
  • JKSE
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr