Association of Severity of Coronary Artery Disease With Traditional Risk Factors, Clinical Characteristics and Carotid Plaque Burden in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Aim: To study the associations between risk factors, clinical characteristics, severity of brachiocephalic artery (BCA) atherosclerosis and severity of coronary artery (CA) disease in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Material And Methods: The study included patients with any type of ACS and obstructive coronary artery disease confirmed by coronary angiography. A quantitative analysis of coronary angiography data was performed with an assessment of the number of CAs with significant stenosis and calculation of the SYNTAX score. The major clinical and laboratory parameters that are risk factors for atherosclerosis and/or affect the cardiovascular prognosis were assessed; for patients with ACS without ST segment elevation (NSTE-ACS), the risk score was calculated by the GRACE scale. The BCA ultrasound examination was performed with a quantitative analysis of atherosclerotic burden.

Results: The study included 312 patients aged 64 [56, 72] years; the proportion of men was 69.2%. The frequency of lesions of 1, 2 and 3 coronary arteries was 34.6, 35.3, and 30.1%, respectively; the SYNTAX score was 14 [9, 21]. According to the results of univariate analysis, the number of stenotic CAs and the SYNTAX score were associated with age, smoking history, history of ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus (DM), the presence of non-stenotic CA lesions, the GRACE score in NSTE-ACS, and the Charlson comorbidity index. An inverse correlation was found for the level of physical activity and a slightly weaker one for the glomerular filtration rate and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In multivariate models, the only independent predictors of the number of stenotic CAs were HDL-C (odds ratio, OR 0.37, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.17-0.81; p=0.012) and the smoking history (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.12-1.52; p=0.001), a coefficient of determination of the model R2 of 18%, SYNTAX score with a history of myocardial infarction (ß=6.40, 95% CI 3.22-9.58; p<0.001), insulin-dependent DM (ß=9.44, 95% CI 3.50-15.38; p=0.002), GRACE score for NSTE-ACS (ß=0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.11; p<0.014), and a coefficient of determination of the model R2=20%.

Conclusion: Patients with ACS show significant, independent associations of the severity of coronary atherosclerosis with HDL-C, smoking duration, history of myocardial infarction, insulin-dependent diabetes, and the GRACE score in NSTE-ACS. Variability in the severity of CA lesions is only to a small extent determined by risk factors, clinical characteristics, and the severity of concomitant carotid atherosclerosis.