Abstract
Aim: We used quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) to investigate whether coronary plaque progression can be inhibited by controlling lipids with rosuvastatin at Japanese standard doses following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Methods: A total of 143 patients who underwent elective PCI were randomized to either the rosuvastatin (5 or 2.5mg/day) or non-statin group. Changes from baseline in the minimal lumen diameter (MLD) and average lumen diameter (ALD) measured using QCA were analyzed in both target and non-target lesions.
Results: The changes in MLD and ALD from baseline to 24 months in the non-target lesions were significantly smaller in the rosuvastatin group than in the non-statin group (−0.079±0.014 mm vs.−0.135±0.019 mm, p=0.022; −0.062±0.012 mmvs. −0.109±0.016mm, p=0.025). The changes in MLD from six to 24 months in the target lesions were significantly lower in the rosuvastatin group than in the non-statin group among the patients treated with drug-eluting stents (−0.046± 0.108 mm vs. −0.133±0.108 mm, p=0.009) versus those treated with bare-metal stents (−0.011± 0.094 mm vs. −0.015±0.040 mm, p=0.255).
Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that the administration of a standard dose of rosuvastatin slows coronary plaque progression and may prevent the late catch-up phenomenon associated with drug-eluting stents in patients who undergo elective PCI.
