Do abnormal serum cholesterol concentrations and cigarette smoking predispose to specific plaque morphologies in men with coronary disease who die suddenly?
Different coronary risk factors are associated with distinct mechanisms of sudden cardiac death, with cholesterol linked to plaque rupture and smoking to acute thrombosis.
Among men with coronary disease who die suddenly, abnormal serum cholesterol concentrations - particularly elevated ratios of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol - predispose patients to rupture of vulnerable plaques, whereas cigarette smoking predisposes patients to acute thrombosis.
Burke et al. (1997) studied this question.