Heart and vessels
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the morphology and composition of atherosclerotic coronary plaques in patients with stable coronary artery disease by 64-row multidetector computed tomography (CT) angiography. A total of 56 patients were divided into an ischemia-related (n = 31) and a nonischemia-related lesion group (n = 25) based on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, invasive angiography, and 1-year clinical follow-up. The 56 lesions detected by CT imaging were analyzed; the severity of stenosis, the lesion length, CT attenuation value, and calcium deposition of the plaques were evaluated. ⋯ The odds ratio (OR) of these parameters was 6.874 (P = 0.007), 1.371 (P = 0.001), 1.018 (P = 0.044), and 5.400 (P = 0.004), respectively. By multivariate logistic analysis, the severity of stenosis and lesion length were significantly associated with ischemia-related plaques (OR 7.588, P = 0.036 and OR 1.365, P = 0.003, respectively). In conclusion, coronary CT angiography is useful for the identification of morphological differences between ischemia-related and nonischemia-related plaques in patients with stable coronary artery disease.