Abstract 1680: Spatial Distribution of Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary occlusions occur most frequently as a result of rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. Previous studies have found greater extent of atherosclerotic disease in the coronary arteries of diabetic patients. While the burden of disease is higher in diabetics, less is known about the spatial distribution of myocardial infarction in this population. METHODS: We sought to compare the spatial distribution of myocardial infarction (STEMI and Non-STEMI) in patients with diabetes mellitus and in those without, based on quantitative coronary and statistical analysis. We analyzed 756 patients with STEMI (n = 556) and NSTEMI (n=200), of which 175 patients comprised the diabetic cohort, and mapped the location of the acute coronary occlusion. RESULTS: Coronary occlusions were not uniformly distributed throughout each of the major epicardial coronary arteries but tended to cluster within the proximal third of each of the vessels in both cohorts. There was no difference in the distribution of occlusions in diabetics vs. non-diabetics in any of the vessels (left anterior descending artery, P=0.35; left circumflex artery; P=0.33 right coronary artery, P=0.20; Figure). CONCLUSIONS: Acute coronary occlusions leading to STEMI and NSTEMI in both diabetics and non-diabetics tend to cluster in predictable “hot spots” within the proximal third of the coronary arteries. Identification of these high-risk zones for acute coronary occlusions will lead to future advances in vulnerable plaque detection technology and potentially locally directed preventive strategies. Spatial distribution of myocardial infarction in diabetics vs. non-diabetics using distance to lesion from the ostium of the coronary artery.