Does clinical presentation (acute MI vs stable/subacute) affect the morphology and ulceration of non-culprit coronary plaques in patients undergoing PCI?
The study highlights the limitations of imaging in assessing plaque vulnerability, as non-culprit plaque morphology is largely similar between acute MI and stable patients, aside from increased ulceration in acute MI.
Additional plaques are frequently found adjacent to the culprit lesions in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention independent of clinical presentation. The increased prevalence of plaque ulceration but otherwise similar morphology of additional lesions in patients with acute MI versus stable/subacute presentation demonstrates the limitations of imaging in the assessment of plaque vulnerability.
Schoenhagen et al. (2003) studied this question.