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Background: Nonculprit lesions are the major cause of future cardiovascular events. However, the natural course of nonculprit lesions and angiographic predictors of plaque progression are not well-studied. The purpose of our study was to observe the natural course of nonculprit lesions, and to identify predictors of unanticipated future events and angiographic progression in nonculprit lesions., Methods: We analyzed 640 nonculprit lesions with a length of ≥2 mm and luminal narrowing ≥30% from 320 patients who had two serial angiographic follow-ups; 9 to 13 months post-PCI and 24 months post-PCI. The study endpoints were nonculprit-ischemia driven revascularization (IDR) and the rate of diameter stenosis (DS) progression. Those with progression of DS > 12%/year were defined as 'rapid progressors'., Results: During the median follow-up period of 737 days, 20 lesions in 20 patients (6.3%) required nonculprit-IDR. Independent predictors of nonculprit-IDR were diabetes (hazard ratio [HR] 2.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.072-8.007, p = 0.036) and lesion type B2/C (HR 4.017, 95% CI 1.614-9.997, p = 0.003). The presence of one or both of the two major risk factors was associated with significant DS progression (3.0 ± 6.8% vs. 3.5 ± 6.1% vs. 6.8 ± 9.9% for lesions with 0, 1 and both risk factors, p < 0.001). Among the 640 lesions, 38 lesions (5.9%) in 33 patients were rapid progressors, while risk factors of rapid progressors included lesion type B2/C as a lesion-related risk factor (HR 1.998, 95% CI 1.006-3.791, p = 0.048) and diabetes mellitus as a patient-related risk factor (HR 3.725, 95% CI 1.937-7.538, p < 0.001). Lesions with both risk factors (type B2/C lesions in diabetic patients) were at the highest risk of rapid progression (odds ratio 3.250, 95% CI 1.451-7.282), compared to type A/B1 lesions in non-diabetic patients., Conclusion: Nonculprit-IDR was not uncommon during the 2-year follow up period in our population. The major risk factors of nonculprit lesion progression were diabetes and lesion type B2/C., Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered and approved by the institutional review board of Seoul National University Hospital (No.: 1801-138-918) on February 2nd, 2018.

Objectives: This study sought to determine whether computational modeling can be used to predict the functional outcome of coronary stenting by virtual stenting of ischemia-causing stenoses identified on the pre-treatment model., Background: Computed tomography (CT)-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a novel noninvasive technology that can provide computed (FFRct) using standard coronary CT angiography protocols., Methods: We prospectively enrolled 44 patients (48 lesions) who had coronary CT angiography before angiography and stenting, and invasively measured FFR before and after stenting. FFRct was computed in blinded fashion using coronary CT angiography and computational fluid dynamics before and after virtual coronary stenting. Virtual stenting was performed by modification of the computational model to restore the area of the target lesion according to the proximal and distal reference areas., Results: Before intervention, invasive FFR was 0.70 ± 0.14 and noninvasive FFRct was 0.70 ± 0.15. FFR after stenting and FFRct after virtual stenting were 0.90 ± 0.05 and 0.88 ± 0.05, respectively (R = 0.55, p < 0.001). The mean difference between FFRct and FFR was 0.006 for pre-intervention (95% limit of agreement: -0.27 to 0.28) and 0.024 for post-intervention (95% limit of agreement: -0.08 to 0.13). Diagnostic accuracy of FFRct to predict ischemia (FFR ≤ 0.8) prior to stenting was 77% (sensitivity: 85.3%, specificity: 57.1%, positive predictive value: 83%, and negative predictive value: 62%) and after stenting was 96% (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 96% positive predictive value: 50%, and negative predictive value: 100%)., Conclusions: Virtual coronary stenting of CT-derived computational models is feasible, and this novel noninvasive technology may be useful in predicting functional outcome after coronary stenting. (Virtual Coronary Intervention and Noninvasive Fractional Flow Reserve [FFR]; NCT01478100)., (Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study sought to assess the relationship of coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) between major epicardial vessel (MV) and side branch (SB) ostial lesions., Background: Evaluation of ostial lesions is clinically very important. However, anatomical parameters have limitations in the prediction of the functional significance of coronary stenoses., Methods: IVUS and FFR measurement were performed in 93 lesions (MV: 38, SB: 55). Optimal angiographic and IVUS criteria and their diagnostic accuracy for functionally significant stenoses (FFR ≤0.8) were assessed., Results: In MV ostial lesions, FFR had correlation with angiographic percent diameter stenosis (r = -0.68, p < 0.001), minimum lumen area (MLA) by IVUS (r = 0.55, p < 0.001), percent plaque burden (r = -0.42, p = 0.011), and percent area stenosis (r = -0.49, p = 0.003). Meanwhile, FFR had no correlation with angiographic percent diameter stenosis (r = -0.067, p = 0.635) and weak correlation with MLA (r = 0.30, p = 0.026) in SB ostial lesions. In MV ostial lesions, best cutoff value of angiographic percent diameter stenosis, MLA, percent plaque burden, and percent area stenosis to determine the functional significance was 53%, 3.5 mm(2), 70%, and 50%. However, a statistically significant cutoff value of percent diameter stenosis and MLA could not be found in SB ostial lesions., Conclusions: The relations between angiographic/IVUS parameters and FFR were different between MV and SB ostial lesions. Angiographic and IVUS parameters had poor diagnostic accuracy in predicting the functional significance of SB ostial lesions. (Main Branch Versus Side Branch Ostial Lesion; NCT01335659)., (Copyright © 2012 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background Coronary vasospasm is primarily characterized by transient and reversible vasoconstriction causing myocardial ischaemia and can manifest with various clinical features, including syncope. Case summary A 50-year-old man presented with recurrent episodes of syncope for 3 days. The last syncope history occurred during an early morning walk, accompanied by dizziness and loss of consciousness. There was no clear history of chest pain at the time. He smoked one pack of cigarettes daily and frequently consume alcohol. Approximately 3 h after admission, echocardiography initially revealed normal systolic function; however, during the examination, the patient suddenly complained of dizziness and regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) territory were observed. Both RWMA and dizziness spontaneously improved within a few minutes. Emergency coronary angiography (CAG) was performed to confirm vasospasm. Coronary angiography revealed mild atherosclerosis of proximal LAD. After 3 min, he complained of dizziness and vague chest discomfort, and electrocardiogram revealed ST-segment elevation. We immediately performed angiography of the left coronary artery, and CAG revealed total occlusion of the proximal LAD without any provocation. After administration of intracoronary nitroglycerine, coronary flow was restored completely and ST-segment deviation normalized along with relief in chest discomfort. The patient's symptoms have not recurred for 3 months while being on calcium channel blocker and long-acting nitrates. Discussion Coronary vasospasm can present as transient and dynamic myocardial ischaemia along with angina. Coronary vasospasm should always be considered in the differential diagnosis for syncope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of our study was to investigate the predictors of target lesion revascularization (TLR) and to compare the in-stent restenosis (ISR) progression rates of different 2nd-generation drug-eluting stents (DES).Background: The predictors of early and late TLR after 2nd-generation DES implantation have not been fully evaluated.Methods: We analyzed 944 stented lesions from 394 patients who had at least two serial follow-up angiograms, using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) analysis. The study endpoints were TLR and the velocity of diameter stenosis (DS) progression.Results: TLR occurred in 58 lesions (6.1%) during the first angiographic follow-up period and 23 de novo lesions (2.4%) during the following second interval. Independent predictors for early TLR were diabetes mellitus (DM) (HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.29-5.15, p=0.007), previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.03-5.65, p=0.043), and postprocedure DS% (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05-1.11, p<0.001, per 1%), while predictors of late TLR were previous PCI (HR 9.43, 95% CI 2.58-34.52, p=0.001) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.28-2.00, p<0.001). The ISR progression velocity (by DS%) was 12.1 ±21.0%/year and 3.7 ±10.1%/year during the first and second follow-up periods, respectively, which had no significant difference (p>0.05) between the four types of DESs.Conclusions: Our data showed that predictors for TLR may be different at different time intervals. DM, pervious PCI, and postprocedure DS could predict early TLR, while previous PCI and CRP level could predict late TLR. Contemporary DESs had similar rates of ISR progression rates.Trial Registration: This study was retrospectively registered and approved by the institutional review board of Seoul National University Hospital (no. 1801-138-918). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There have been conflicting results across the trials that evaluated prophylactic efficacy of short-term high-dose statin pre-treatment for prevention of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG). The aim of the study was to perform an up-to-date meta-analysis regarding the efficacy of high-dose statin pre-treatment in preventing CIAKI. Methods and Results: Randomized-controlled trials comparing high-dose statin versus low-dose statin or placebo pre-treatment for prevention of CIAKI in patients undergoing CAG were included. The primary endpoint was the incidence of CIAKI within 2–5days after CAG. The relative risk (RR) with 95% CI was the effect measure. This analysis included 13 RCTs with 5,825 total patients; about half of them (n = 2,889) were pre-treated with high-dose statin (at least 40 mg of atorvastatin) before CAG, and the remainders (n = 2,936) pretreated with low-dose statin or placebo. In random-effects model, high-dose statin pre-treatment significantly reduced the incidence of CIAKI (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.35–0.57, p<0.001, I2 = 8.2%, NNT 16), compared with low-dose statin or placebo. The benefit of high-dose statin was consistent in both comparisons with low-dose statin (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.34–0.65, p<0.001, I2 = 28.4%, NNT 19) or placebo (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.58, p<0.001, I2 = 0.0%, NNT 16). In addition, high-dose statin showed significant reduction of CIAKI across various subgroups of chronic kidney disease, acute coronary syndrome, and old age (≥60years), regardless of osmolality of contrast or administration of N-acetylcystein. Conclusions: High-dose statin pre-treatment significantly reduced overall incidence of CIAKI in patients undergoing CAG, and emerges as an effective prophylactic measure to prevent CIAKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the diagnostic value and pathophysiological role of circulating microRNA (miR) in vasospastic angina (VA). We enrolled patients who underwent coronary angiography for chest pain to explore the miR's diagnostic utility. In addition, we investigated the role of miRs in regulating endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression in human coronary artery endothelial cells (hCAECs). Among the 121 patients, 46 were diagnosed with VA (VA group), 26 with insignificant coronary lesions (ICL group), and 49 with atherothrombotic angina (AA group). The VA group showed a significantly higher expression of miR-17-5p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-126-3p than the ICL group. In contrast, miR-221-3p and miR-222-3p were upregulated in the AA group compared to the VA group, and all levels of miR-17-5p, miR-92a-3p, miR-126-3p, miR-145-5p, miR-221-3p, and miR-222-3p differed between the AA group and the ICL group. In the hCAECs, transfection with mimics (pre-miR) of miR-17-5p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-126-3p was associated with eNOS suppression. Additionally, transfection with inhibitors (anti-miR) of miR-92a-3p significantly rescued the eNOS suppression induced by lipopolysaccharide. In conclusion, the circulating miRs not only proved to have diagnostic utility, but also contributed to pathogenesis by eNOS regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]