Prognostic Implications of Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Patients Undergoing Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography for Acute Chest Pain

Coronary computed tomographic angiography can detect nonobstructive atherosclerotic lesions that would not otherwise have been detected with functional cardiac imaging. Currently, limited data exist regarding the clinical significance of these lesions in patients with acute chest pain. The aim of our study was to examine the prognostic significance of these nonobstructive findings in a patient population presenting with acute chest pain. We evaluated 959 consecutive patients who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography for investigation of acute chest pain. The patients were classified as having normal (n = 545), nonobstructive coronary artery disease (CAD; defined as any narrowing