Anatomic Distribution of Coronary Culprit Lesion and Five-Year Follow-Up for Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque or endothelial erosion with superimposed thrombosis in coronary arteries are primary causes of acute coronary syndromes. This study aimed to evaluate the anatomic distribution of culprit lesions by coronary territories, also to find any association between long-term outcomes and culprit lesion location in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Methods: Patients presented at the emergency room of a tertiary cardiac center with symptoms suggestive of ACS, possible candidates for elective coronary angiography (CAG), were enrolled and followed up every year for five years for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Findings: The subjects had a mean age of 60.6 ± 11.3 years, whom 74.4% were men. CAG revealed that among 98 lesions in coronary arteries, the left anterior descending (LAD) artery was the most common accused artery with frequency of 46%. Five-year follow-up results showed that 32.2% of patients experienced MACE which developed more in the LAD (38%) and then the right coronary artery (RCA) territories (27.6%) with no significant differences between other territories. Conclusion: Although we found no significant differences between MACEs scores in different groups of coronary territories, but cardiologists may be able to plan follow-ups by the primary lesion. According to our study, the most frequent MACE was repeated percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which showed the importance of intervention in early diagnose, follow-up and treatment. Further studies with higher sample sizes are needed to show the prognostic value of culprit lesion territory in patients with ACS.