The relationship between residual cholesterol risk and plaque characteristics in patients with acute coronary syndrome evaluated by optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Abstract Background It has been demonstrated that high sensitive-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are independently associated with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Whether the level of LDL has impact on plaque characteristics in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with normal hs-CRP are still unknown. Methods We retrospectively enrolled ACS patients with the level of hs-CRP<2mg/L on admission from 1st January, 2017 to 31st December,2017, from our hospital. All patients underwent pre-intervention optical coherence tomography (OCT) to evaluate the plaque characteristics. Residual cholesterol risk (RCR) was defined as LDL-C≥1.8mmol/L, while hs-CRP<2mg/L. According to the level of baseline LDL-C, patients were divided into RCR group and non-RCR group. Results A total of 90 patients (94 vessels) were included, with 50 patients in RCR group and 40 patients in non-RCR group. Compared with non-RCR group, patients in RCR group had higher levels of total cholesterol (4.39±0.89 vs 3.05±0.48, p=0.000), LDL-C (2.56±0.57 vs 1.54±0.22, p=0.000), triglycerides (1.11±1.12 vs 1.02±0.74, p=0.003). Patients in RCR group were younger (54.0±11.04 vs 58.4±9.59, p=0.049) and had higher rate of multivessel disease (6.0% vs 2.5%, p=0.028) than those in non-RCR group. With regard to plaque characteristics, fibrous plaque (0.0% vs 12.5%, p=0.003) was less seen and atherosclerotic plaque (79.6% vs 50.0%, p=0.028) was more seen in RCR group. In addition, patients in RCR group had significantly higher rate of plaque rupture than that in non-RCR group (24.1% vs 5%, p=0.008). To be noticed, cholesterol crystal and thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) were more commonly in RCR group, though the difference was not statistical. Conclusion Patients with RCR have a great extent of plaque rupture, indicating more vulnerable plaque phenotype. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Foundation. Main funding source(s): China Youth Clinical Research Foundation-VG Foundation