Intravascular ultrasound study of angiographically mildly diseased coronary arteries

• Published in: Journal of the American College of Cardiology 1993-12, Vol.22 (7), p.1858-1865
• Main Authors: Porter, Thomas R., Sears, Thomas, Xie, Feng, Michels, Alan, Mata, Jayne, Welsh, Douglas, Shurmur, Scott
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular system; Constriction, Pathologic - diagnostic imaging; Constriction, Pathologic - epidemiology; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Artery Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Artery Disease - epidemiology; Coronary Vessels - diagnostic imaging; Female; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Observer Variation; Ultrasonic investigative techniques; Ultrasonography, Interventional
• ISSN: 0735-1097; 1558-3597
• DOI: 10.1016/0735-1097(93)90770-2

Objectives. We hypothesized that intravascular ultrasound may identify significant coronary artery narrowing in the mildly diseases artery of patients with or one- or two-vessel coronary artery disease. Bacground. Necropsy studies have revealed that coronary angiography may underestimate stenosis severity in vessels that appear mildly diseased. Intravascular ultratound has been shown to detect atherosclerotic changs in a angiographically normal coronary arteries and to correlate better with histologic findings. Methods. In 20 patients, we performed intravascular ultrasound imaging (3.5F catheter, 30-MHz transducer) in 37 coronary arteries that were considered mildly diseased (25% intimal thickening in 12 of the 19 underestimated segments. In six stenosed segments (32%), total vessel area increased compared with that of the adjacent proximal vessel segment because of compensatory dilation. Conclusions. Intravascular ultrasound identified potentially significant coronary artery disease in vessels that appear to be only mildly diseased by angiography.