Table 1.
Baseline characteristics.
| Demographics | Overall (n = 196) | Non-HRP (n = 152) | HRP (n = 44) | p-value | No CAD (n = 26) | CAD (n = 170) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 58 ± 8 | 58 ± 9 | 59 ± 8 | 0.35 | 52 ± 6 | 59 ± 8 | <0.001 |
| Male | 126 (64%) | 90 (59%) | 36 (82%) | 0.006 | 12 (46%) | 114 (67%) | 0.04 |
| Body mass index | 27 ± 4 | 27 ± 4 | 27 ± 3 | 0.85 | 27 ± 4 | 27 ± 4 | 0.63 |
| Risk factors – no (%) | |||||||
| DM type II | 30 (15%) | 24 (16%) | 6 (14%) | 0.73 | 2 (8%) | 28 (17%) | 0.38 |
| Hypertension | 90 (46%) | 74 (49%) | 16 (36%) | 0.15 | 7 (27%) | 83 (49%) | 0.04 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 75 (38%) | 56 (37%) | 19 (43%) | 0.45 | 8 (31%) | 67 (39%) | 0.40 |
| Current smoker | 40 (20%) | 28 (18%) | 12 (27%) | 0.20 | 6 (23%) | 34 (20%) | 0.72 |
| Family history | 102 (52%) | 80 (53%) | 22 (50%) | 0.76 | 14 (54%) | 88 (52%) | 0.84 |
| Type of chest pain – no (%) | |||||||
| Between groups | 0.005 | 0.13 | |||||
| Typical angina | 68 (35%) | 44 (29%) | 24 (55%) | 0.002 | 8 (31%) | 60 (35%) | NA |
| Atypical angina | 76 (39%) | 62 (41%) | 14 (32%) | 0.28 | 7 (27%) | 69 (41%) | NA |
| Non-specific chest discomfort | 52 (27%) | 46 (30%) | 6 (14%) | 0,03 | 11 (42%) | 41 (24%) | NA |
| Laboratory tests | |||||||
| TC, mmol/La | 4·6 ± 1·1 | 4·5 ± 1·0 | 4·7 ± 1·3 | 0.33 | 4·5 ± 1.0 | 4·6 ± 1.1 | 0.57 |
| LDL-C, mmol/La | 2·5 ± 0·9 | 2·5 ± 0·9 | 2·6 ± 1·0 | 0.39 | 2·4 ± 1.1 | 2·5 ± 0.9 | 0.41 |
| HDL-C, mmol/La | 1·4 ± 0·5 | 1·4 ± 0·5 | 1·3 ± 0·4 | 0.14 | 1·4 ± 0.3 | 1·4 ± 0.5 | 0.79 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/La | 1·5 ± 0·9 | 1·5 ± 0·8 | 1·7 ± 1·2 | 0.33 | 1·4 ± 0.6 | 1·5 ± 0.9 | 0.37 |
| hs-Troponin T, ng/La | 5·0 [4·0–8·3] | 5·0 [3·0–8·0] | 7·0 [4·0–9·0] | 0.044 | 4·0 [3·0–7·0] | 6·0 [4·0–9·0] | 0.05 |
| NT-proBNP, ng/La | 67 [40–135] | 65 [40–132] | 69 [42–182] | 0.35 | 59 [34–115] | 69 [42–136] | 0.42 |
| Creatinin, μmol/L | 72·8 ± 13·7 | 71·6 ± 13·4 | 76·8 ± 13·9 | 0.03 | 72·5 ± 15·0 | 72·8 ± 13·5 | 0.93 |
| eGFR <60 mL/min, no (%) | 5 (3%) | 4 (3%) | 1 (2%) | 1.00 | 1 (4%) | 4 (2%) | 0.51 |
| CRP ≥ 2.5 mg/L, no (%) | 36 (18%) | 28 (18%) | 8 (18%) | 0.97 | 5 (19%) | 31 (18%) | 1.00 |
| Medication use – no (%) | |||||||
| Statin | 151 (77%) | 112 (74%) | 39 (89%) | 0.04 | 18 (69%) | 133 (78%) | 0.31 |
| Acetylsalicylic acid | 175 (89%) | 133 (88%) | 42 (96%) | 0.17 | 20 (77%) | 155 (91%) | 0.03 |
| Betablocker | 126 (64%) | 90 (59%) | 36 (82%) | 0.006 | 16 (62%) | 110 (65%) | 0.75 |
| ACE-inhibitor/ARB | 73 (37%) | 61 (40%) | 12 (27%) | 0.12 | 6 (23%) | 67 (39%) | 0.11 |
| Other | |||||||
| SBP, mm Hg | 143 ± 20 | 143 ± 19 | 144 ± 21 | 0.62 | 135 ± 24 | 144 ± 19 | 0.04 |
| DBP, mm Hg | 82 ± 12 | 82 ± 12 | 84 ± 11 | 0.41 | 79 ± 15 | 83 ± 11 | 0.24 |
| Framingham Risk Scorea | 6·3 ± 3·2 | 6·1 ± 3·4 | 6·7 ± 2·8 | 0.34 | 4·3 ± 4·0 | 6·6 ± 3·0 | 0.001 |
Total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C—, triglycerides, NT-proBNP, and Framingham risk score were missing in 2 patients and hs-Troponin T was missing in 6 patients. Abbreviations: HRP, high-risk plaque; CAD, coronary artery disease; NA, not applicable since no significant difference was found in type of chest pain in no CAD vs CAD (p = .133), thus no post-hoc testing was performed; LDL-C, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; hs-Troponin, high-sensitive Troponin; NT-proBNP: N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; ACE-inhibtor, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure.