Abstract 18410: Association Between Serum Uric Acid Level and the Presence of Coronary Vulnerable Plaques

Abstract

Background: Uric acid may have effects on vascular remodeling and atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and presence of coronary vulnerable plaque assessed by computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Method: Five hundred twenty-nine patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent 64-slice CTA to evaluate the prevalence of CAD and plaque morphology. Coronary vulnerable plaque was defined as positive vessel remodeling (PR) (RI>1.1) and low-attenuation plaques (LAP) (<50 Hounsfield Unites). SUA level was divides into 4 groups: <5, 5 to <6, 6 to <6.8, ≧6.8 mg/dl.

Results: The higher SUA levels were associated with the higher prevalence of coronary vulnerable plaque (P<0.001).The number of vulnerable plaques per patient was significantly higher in patients with higher SUA levels (Figure, P=0.002). In multivariate logistic analysis that adjusted for age, gender, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus and estimated glomerular filtration rate, the patients whose SUA level 5 to <6mg/dl, 6 to <6.8mg/dl, and ≧6.8mg/dl had odds ratio (OR) of 1.194 (95% CI: 0.773-2.078, P=0.525), 1.306 (95% CI: 0.085-2.510, P=0.382), 2.622 (95% CI: 1.643-4.541, P=0.002) respectively, for prediction of coronary vulnerable plaque, compared with those whose SUA level was <5 mg/dl.

Conclusion: SUA level was associated with the presence of coronary vulnerable plaques. Assessment of SUA level may be useful to identify the high risk patients with suspected CAD, and SUA may have a pathophysiologic effect on atherosclerosis.