Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Attenuation Is Associated with High-Risk Plaque and Subsequent Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease

Figure 1. Patient selection and study design. Flow chart depicting selection of final study cohort, including patients with HRP matched to patients without HRP. CTA: computed tomography angiography; HRP: high-risk plaque.

Figure 2. PCATRCA attenuation by presence of HRP and subsequent presentation with ACS. Bar graphs of per-patient differences in PCAT attenuation in patients with HRP (HRP+) and without HRP (HRP−), and in patients with HRP who developed ACS (HRP+ACS+) and patients with HRP who did not develop ACS (HRP+ACS−). ACS: acute coronary syndrome.

Figure 3. Case comparison of per-patient PCAT quantification. Comparison of the RCA of a patient with HRP versus a patient without HRP (control) as shown on coronary CTA. RCA in patient with HRP shown in cross-sectional (A) and longitudinal (D) views, with calcified plaque (yellow) and non-calcified plaque (red) highlighted. Representation of PCAT attenuation of patient with HRP (−75.6 HU) and control (−93.9 HU) shown in cross-sectional (B,C) and longitudinal (E,F) views. Colour map corresponds to CT attenuation in Hounsfield Units (HU) ranging from −190 HU (yellow) to −30 HU (red). Cross-sectional view in patient with HRP shown in panel (B) versus control shown in panel (C). Longitudinal view in patient with HRP shown in panel (E) versus control shown in panel (F). RCA: right coronary artery.

Figure 4. PCATRCA attenuation by gender and presence of HRP. Bar graphs of per-patient differences in PCAT attenuation in men (Male) and women (Female), men with HRP (Male, HRP+) and women with HRP (Female, HRP+), and men without HRP (Male, HRP−) and women without HRP (Female, HRP−). ACS: acute coronary syndrome.

Figure 5. Survival curve of patients with HRP (red) versus patients without HRP (green).