Plaque location and vessel geometry ‘offer prognostic value for ACS’

Coronary plaques with adverse geometric traits, such as proximity to the ostium, are associated with progression to acute coronary syndrome-causing culprit lesions, a first-of-its-kind study shows.
The findings demonstrate that assessing plaque location and vessel geometry “may provide additive prognostic information” in coronary CT angiography (CCTA), an international research group says.
Using a combination of visual assessment and simple distance and angle measurements, the US-led team investigated the relationship between lesion-level adverse geometric characteristics (see box below) and risk of developing into culprit lesions.
Coronary lesions were evaluated for three adverse geometric characteristics: