Superficial Calcified Plates Associated to Plaque Erosions in Acute Coronary Syndromes

Abstract

This study investigates the clinical relevance and therapeutic implications of the OCT identification of intracoronary superficial calcified plates (SCPs) in acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). In 70 consecutive ACS patients (pts), we studied the three main underlying ACS mechanisms: plaque erosion (PE), plaque rupture and eruptive calcified nodule (CN). The PE lesions, occurring on an intact fibrous cap overlying a heterogeneous substrate, were identified in 12/70 pts (17.1%). PE on superficial calcified plates (PE-SCP) represented 58.3% of the PE lesions (7/12 pts) and had a 10% overall incidence in the culprit lesions (7/70 pts). PE-SCP lesions occurred mostly on the left anterior descending artery, correlated with white thrombi (85.7%) and had a proximal intraplaque site (71.4%). PE-SCP lesions were treated conservatively, as nonsignificant lesions, in 4/7 pts. Our study emphasizes that the coronary calcium-related ACS risk is not only associated with the spotty calcifications or CN but also with the PE-SCP lesions.

Keywords

• atherosclerotic coronary disease
• acute coronary syndromes
• optical coherence tomography
• culprit lesions
• plaque erosion
• superficial calcified plates