Table 1. Characteristics of the patients.
| All N= 691 | Patients with heterogeneous plaque N= 309 | Patients without heterogeneous plaque N= 382 | P-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 70 (63-76) | 72 (66-78) | 67 (60-74) | ＜0.001 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 23.7 (21.5-26.3) | 23.4 (21.0-25.8) | 24.0 (21.7-26.6) | 0.02 |
| Men, n (%) | 553 (80.0%) | 251 (81.2%) | 302 (79.1%) | 0.48 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 512 (74.1%) | 241 (78.0%) | 271 (70.9%) | 0.04 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 322 (46.6%) | 159 (51.5%) | 163 (42.7%) | 0.02 |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 509 (73.7%) | 215 (69.6%) | 294 (77.0%) | 0.03 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 64.6 (50.5-76.9) | 61.8 (45.9-74.4) | 66.6 (54.0-79.3) | ＜0.001 |
| eGFR＜60 mL/min/1.73 m2, n (%) | 274 (39.7%) | 140 (45.3%) | 134 (35.1%) | 0.006 |
| Dialysis, n (%) | 26 (3.8%) | 20 (6.5%) | 6 (1.6%) | ＜0.001 |
| Current Smoker, n (%) | 148 (21.4%) | 67 (21.8%) | 81 (21.2%) | 0.86 |
| Previous ischemic stroke | 104 (15.1%) | 60 (19.4%) | 44 (11.5%) | 0.004 |
| Previous MI, n (%) | 89 (12.9%) | 51 (16.5%) | 38 (9.9%) | 0.01 |
| Previous PCI, n (%) | 137 (19.8%) | 69 (22.3%) | 68 (17.8%) | 0.14 |
| Previous CABG, n (%) | 48 (6.9%) | 32 (10.4%) | 16 (4.2%) | 0.002 |
| ACS, n (%) | 214 (31.0%) | 82 (26.5%) | 132 (34.6%) | 0.02 |
| AMI, n (%) | 132 (19.1%) | 49 (15.9%) | 83 (21.7%) | 0.05 |
| UAP, n (%) | 82 (11.9%) | 33 (10.7%) | 49 (12.8%) | 0.39 |
| SAP, n (%) | 477 (69.0%) | 227 (73.5%) | 250 (65.4%) | 0.02 |
| Medication at discharge | ||||
| Antiplatelet agent, n (%) | 686 (99.3%) | 306 (99.0%) | 380 (99.5%) | 0.40 |
| ACE-i/ARB, n (%) | 422 (61.1%) | 193 (62.5%) | 229 (59.9%) | 0.50 |
| Ca blocker, n (%) | 276 (39.9%) | 129 (41.7%) | 147 (38.5%) | 0.38 |
| β blocker, n (%) | 263 (38.1%) | 122 (39.5%) | 141 (36.9%) | 0.49 |
| Statin, n (%) | 590 (85.4%) | 256 (82.8%) | 334 (87.4%) | 0.09 |
| Oral antidiabetic, n (%) | 208 (30.1%) | 106 (34.3%) | 102 (26.7%) | 0.03 |
| Insulin, n (%) | 73 (10.6%) | 30 (9.7%) | 43 (11.3%) | 0.51 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 172 (146-202) | 169 (142-195) | 176 (154-208) | ＜0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 45 (37-53) | 44 (36-53) | 45 (38-54) | 0.18 |
| LDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 97 (78-122) | 94 (76-114) | 100 (80-128) | 0.002 |
| Triglyceride, mg/dL | 120 (86-174) | 112 (82-164) | 127 (90-183) | 0.01 |
| HbA1c, % | 6.1 (5.8-6.8) | 6.2 (5.8-7.0) | 6.1 (5.8-6.7) | 0.08 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 13.3 (11.8-14.7) | 12.9 (11.3-14.3) | 13.7 (12.3-15.0) | ＜0.001 |
| Ejection fraction, % | 63.6 (56.0-69.0) | 62.1 (54.0-68.3) | 64.0 (57.4-69.3) | 0.03 |
| Max CIMT, mm | 2.5 (1.8-3.1) | 2.9 (2.4-3.6) | 1.9 (1.4-2.7) | ＜0.001 |
| Calcified plaque, n (%) | 471 (68.2%) | 288 (93.2%) | 174 (45.5%) | ＜0.001 |
| Irregular or ulcerated plaque, n (%) | 238 (34.4%) | 178 (57.6%) | 58 (15.2%) | ＜0.001 |
a between the patients with and without heterogeneous carotid plaque
HDL; high density lipoprotein, LDL; low density lipoprotein, eGFR; estimated glomerular filtration rate, MI; myocardial infarction, PCI; percutaneous coronary intervention, CABG; coronary artery bypass grafting, ACS; acute coronary syndrome, AMI; acute myocardial infarction, UAP; unstable angina pectoris, SAP; stable angina pectoris, ACE-I; angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, ARB; angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blocker, CIMT; carotid intima-media thickness