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 (P<0.05). 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, P<0.05), and negatively with the plasmic HDL levels (r=-0.06, P<0.05). 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.