Prevalence of spontaneous coronary artery dissection in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

AIMS: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) found typically in young females without classical coronary risk factors is thought to be a very rare cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The prevalence of SCAD in ACS subjects has been unclear, probably due to the nature of coronary angiography. The aim of this study was to use optical coherence tomography (OCT) to investigate the prevalence of SCAD in ACS.

METHODS AND RESULTS: This study consisted of 326 patients with ACS (with or without ST-segment elevation) who underwent OCT to explore the entire culprit artery. According to OCT findings, patients were divided into a SCAD, a plaque rupture (PR), and a non-SCAD/non-PR group. OCT revealed 13 (4.0%) SCADs and 160 (49.1%) plaque ruptures in ACS subjects. The percentage of females versus males was greater in the SCAD group (SCAD: 53.8% vs. PR: 20.0% vs. non-SCAD/non-PR: 23.5%, p=0.02) while no difference was observed in age (SCAD: 67.3±13.3 vs. PR: 66.5±11.1 vs. non-SCAD/non-PR: 67.0±10.5, p=0.90). The prevalence of dyslipidemia (SCAD: 30.8% vs. PR: 63.8% vs. non-SCAD/non-PR: 67.5%, p=0.03) and current smoking (SCAD: 7.7% vs. PR: 57.9% vs. non-SCAD/non-PR: 59.7%, p<0.01) were significantly lower in the SCAD group.

CONCLUSIONS: SCAD is not a rare cause for ACS, especially in females without classical coronary risk factors.