Table 2. Histological plaque features and immunostaining in upstream and downstream regions.

	n	Upstream	n	Downstream	p
AHA class	56		52
III		2 (4%)		12 (23%)	0.006
IV		19 (34%)		14 (27%)	0.33
V		11 (20%)		18 (35%)	0.077
VI		24 (43%)		8 (15%)	0.001
Intra plaque hemorrhage	56	38 (68%)	52	16 (31%)	<0.001
Thrombosis	56	19 (34%)	52	7 (14%)	0.006
Thin fibrous cap	56	43 (77%)	52	22 (42%)	<0.001
Rupture	56	24 (43%)	52	8 (15%)	0.001
Number of vessels, n/mm2 (quartiles)	54	4.6 (1.6–10.2)	55	1.4 (0.3–5.7)	0.001
CD68 stained area, %	56	6.3 (1.3–17.1)	56	2.3 (0.4–11.4)	0.007
HIF1-α stained area, %	56	6.2 (4.0–9.0)	56	6.9 (5.4–9.9)	0.009
VEGF stained area, %	56	1.5 (0.4–3.9)	56	0.4 (0.1–1.1)	<0.001
VEGFR2 stained area, %	56	1.1 (0.4–2.1)	55	0.5 (0.2–1.0)	<0.001
Dll4 stained area, %	56	1.0 (0.5–1.7)	56	0.6 (0.2–1.5)	0.031
Notch stained area, %	56	1.4 (0.6–2.2)	56	0.9 (0.4–1.5)	0.026