Tissue characteristics of culprit lesion and myocardial tissue-level perfusion in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: The EARLY-MYO-ACS study.

Objective: The impact of tissue characteristics of culprit lesion on myocardial tissue-level perfusion in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) remains unclear. EARLY-MYO-ACS study was a prospective observational study to investigate the relationship between pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) culprit plaque characteristics and post-PCI myocardial tissue-level perfusion with iMap intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in NSTE-ACS patients.

Methods: A total of 408 patients with coronary artery disease (246 NSTE-ACS and 162 stable angina pectoris) undergoing coronary angiography, grayscale-IVUS and iMap-IVUS were enrolled.