Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Activity and Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Total coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity across the entire coronary arterial tree is associated with patient-level clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate whether vessel-level coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity is associated with vessel-level myocardial infarction. METHODS: In this secondary analysis of an international multicenter study of patients with recent myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease, we assessed vessel-level coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity using coronary 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography to identify vessel-level myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Increased 18F-sodium fluoride uptake was found in 679 of 2,094 coronary arteries and 414 of 691 patients. Myocardial infarction occurred in 24 (4%) vessels with increased coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity and in 25 (2%) vessels without increased coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity (HR 2.08; 95% CI 1.16-3.72; P = 0.013). This association was not demonstrable in those treated with coronary revascularization (HR 1.02; 95% CI 0.47-2.25) but was notable in untreated vessels (HR 3.86; 95% CI 1.63-9.10; Pinteraction = 0.024). Increased coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity in multiple coronary arteries was associated with heightened patient-level risk of cardiac death or myocardial infarction (HR 2.43; 95% CI 1.37-4.30; P = 0.002) as well as first (HR 2.19; 95% CI 1.18-4.06; P = 0.013) and total (HR 2.50; 95% CI 1.42-4.39; P = 0.002) myocardial infarctions. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with recent myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease, coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity prognosticates individual coronary arteries and patients at risk for myocardial infarction.