Osteogenic monocytes within the coronary circulation and their association with plaque vulnerability in patients with early atherosclerosis.

Objectives: This study tests the hypothesis that circulating mononuclear cells expressing osteocalcin (OCN) and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) are associated with distinct plaque tissue components in patients with early coronary atherosclerosis.

Background: Plaque characteristics implying vulnerability develop at the earliest stage of coronary atherosclerosis. Increasing evidence indicates that cells from the myeloid lineage might serve as important mediators of destabilization.

Clinical usefulness of nonhyperemic baseline Pd/Pa as a hybrid baseline Pd/Pa-fractional flow reserve strategy.

Objective: The ratio of basal distal intracoronary pressure (Pd) and aortic pressure (Pa) is a nonhyperemic index for the severity of coronary artery stenosis. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of a hybrid baseline Pd/Pa-fractional flow reserve (FFR) strategy in reducing the need for hyperemia.

Methods: In this study, 570 lesions from 527 consecutive patients who had both baseline Pd/Pa and FFR determined were evaluated retrospectively.