The level of blood thrombogenicity was not elevated in stable patients with disrupted coronary plaque.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although extremely high blood thrombogenicity has been reported in patients with acute myocardial infarction, it has not been clarified if the increased blood thrombogenicity is a cause of acute myocardial infarction or a mere result induced by thrombus formation at the disrupted plaque. Therefore, we examined if blood thrombogenicity is extremely increased as in acute myocardial infarction patients when disrupted plaque is present in patients with stable coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive patients (n=38) with stable coronary artery disease who received angioscopic examination were included. Patients were divided into two groups according to presence or absence of disrupted plaque that accompanied thrombus. Blood thrombogenicity was evaluated by blood vulnerability index and compared between the patients with and without disrupted plaque. Among 38 study patients, 16 had disrupted plaque and 22 did not. Blood vulnerability index was not different between the patients with and without disrupted plaque (2395 ± 612 vs. 3013 ± 1476, p=0.12). Multivariate analysis revealed no significant association between blood vulnerability index and the presence of disrupted plaque. CONCLUSION: The presence of disrupted plaque, in comparison with its absence, was not associated with higher blood thrombogenicity evaluated by blood vulnerability index.