Statins favorably stabilize coronary plaque. We evaluated the impact of statin use before the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on culprit lesion plaque morphology. Patients (n = 127) with AMI were divided into either a statin group (n = 31) or a nonstatin group (n = 96) based on statin use before the onset of AMI. Coronary plaque morphology of the culprit lesion was evaluated using intravascular ultrasound virtual histology (IVUS-VH) with radiofrequency data analysis before coronary intervention. The IVUS-VH identified 4 types of plaque components: fibrous, fibrofatty, dense calcium, and necrotic core. The IVUS-VH showed less percentage of necrotic area, greater percentage fibrous area, and greater percentage of fibrofatty area of the culprit lesion in the statin group. In conclusion, statin use before the onset of AMI might have effects on coronary plaque morphology of the AMI culprit lesion with less necrotic core and greater fibrous and fibrofatty component.
Keywords: acute myocardial infarction; coronary plaque morphology; statin.