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Observational Study
. 2019 Apr 2:2019:8563717.
doi: 10.1155/2019/8563717. eCollection 2019.

New Insights into the Association between Fibrinogen and Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability: An Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography Study

Jun Wang  1 , Lu Jia  1 , Xing Li  1 , Siyu Jin  1 , Xiaomei Li  1 , Fen Liu  1 , Chunfang Shan  1 , Yu Zhang  1 , Yining Yang  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

New Insights into the Association between Fibrinogen and Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability: An Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography Study

Jun Wang et al. Cardiovasc Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Fibrinogen levels have been associated with coronary plaque vulnerability in experimental studies. However, it has yet to be determined if serum fibrinogen levels are independently associated with coronary plaque vulnerability as detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with coronary heart disease.

Methods: Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent coronary angiography and OCT in our department from January 2015 to August 2018 were included in this study. Coronary lesions were categorized as ruptured plaque, nonruptured with thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and nonruptured and non-TCFA. Presence of ruptured plaque and nonruptured with TCFA was considered to be vulnerable lesions. Determinants of coronary vulnerability were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Results: A total of 154 patients were included in this study; 17 patients had ruptured plaques, 15 had nonruptured plaques with TCFA, and 122 had nonruptured plaques with non-TCFA. Results of univariate analyses showed that being male, diabetes, current smoking, high body mass index (BMI), and clinical diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were associated with coronary vulnerability. No significant differences were detected in patient characteristics, coronary angiographic findings, and OCT results between patients with higher and normal fibrinogen. Results of multivariate logistic analyses showed that diabetes and ACS were associated with TCFA, while diabetes, higher BMI, and ACS were associated with plaque rupture.

Conclusions: Diabetes, higher BMI, and ACS are independently associated with coronary vulnerability as detected by OCT. Serum fibrinogen was not associated with coronary vulnerability in our cohort.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of patient enrollment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative images of lesion plaques analyzed by optical coherence tomography.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representative optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of coronary atherosclerotic plaques with different characteristics. (a) Fibrotic plaque is characterized by a homogeneous OCT signal and high backscattering. (b) A fibroatheroma was characterized by an atherosclerotic plaque with an OCT-delineated necrotic core (formed by a signal-poor region with poorly delineated borders and little or no OCT backscattering), covered by a fibrous cap (signal-rich layer). (c) A calcific fibroatheroma was characterized by a plaque containing calcium deposits (signal-poor regions with sharply delineated borders). (d) A thin-cap fibroatheroma was characterized by a plaque with lipid content in ≥ 2 quadrants and with a fibrous cap < 65 μm. (e) Macrophage accumulation was reflected by a signal-rich punctate region in the background of an atherosclerotic plaque. Macrophages could be quantitatively classified as follows: grade 0, no macrophage; grade 1, localized macrophage accumulation; grade 2, clustered accumulation < 1 quadrant; grade 3, clustered accumulation ≥ 1 quadrant but < 3 quadrants; and grade 4, clustered accumulation ≥ 3 quadrants. (f) Plaque rupture was characterized by discontinuity of the fibrous cap with a cavity formed inside the plaque. (g) Intracoronary thrombus was characterized by a mass (diameter > 250 mm) that could be attached to the luminal surface or floating within the lumen. A red thrombus that was rich in red blood cells could be identified by high backscattering and high attenuation, while a white thrombus that was rich in platelets could be identified by homogeneous backscattering with low attenuation. (h) The vasa vasorum was characterized by voids with poor signals that were sharply delineated in multiple contiguous frames. (i) Calcified nodules were characterized by a small nodular calcification protruding from the lumen at the base of the fibrous calcified plaques with thrombus formation. (j) Acute Coronary Syndrome with Intact Fibrous Cap (ACS-IFC) was characterized by the following three conditions: (1) presence of the attached thrombus overlying an intact and visualized plaque; (2) irregularity of the luminal surface at the culprit lesion in the absence of thrombus; or (3) attenuation of the underlying plaque by thrombus that was not near a superficial lipid or calcification.
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