Impact of vessel curvature on neointimal healing after stent implantation as assessed by optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: Previous studies have indicated that stent implantation could alter the vessel geometry, which may impact the neointimal healing process. Curvature is an important parameter for evaluating vessel geometry. The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between vessel curvature and neointimal healing after stent implantation. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent stent implantation were enrolled in the study. According to the post-percutaneous coronary intervention vessel curvature measured by quantitative coronary angiography, patients were divided into high (n = 30) and low (n = 29) curvature groups. Neointimal thickness and area together with the neointimal type were assessed by optical coherence tomography at a 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Baseline clinical characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups. The vessel curvature at pre- and 6-month follow-up was significantly higher in the high curvature group than the low curvature group. At 6-month follow-up, neointimal thickness (0.22 [0.08-0.32] mm vs. 0.10 [0.07-0.16] mm, P = .043) and neointimal area (1.86 [0.66-2.66] vs. 0.82 [0.60-1.41] mm, P = .030) were significantly higher in the high curvature group than the low curvature group. In the high curvature group, the incidence of the heterogeneous neointimal type was higher than that in the low curvature group (50.00% vs. 17.20%, respectively, P = .004), whereas the frequency of the homogeneous neointimal type was lower (43.30% vs. 82.80%, respectively, P = .004) in the high curvature group than the low curvature group. CONCLUSION: Higher vessel curvature after stent implantation may potentially have an impact on the neointimal healing with a higher incidence of heterogeneous neointimal.