Non-invasive assessment of coronary artery geometry using coronary CTA

To assess the association of coronary artery geometry with the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). 73 asymptomatic individuals at increased risk of CAD due to peripheral vascular disease (18 women, mean age 63.5 ± 8.2 years) underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (coronary CTA) using first generation dual-source CT. Curvature and tortuosity of the coronary arteries were quantified using semi-automatically generated centerlines. Measurements were performed for individual segments and for the entire artery. Coronary segments were labeled according to the presence of significant stenosis, defined as >70% luminal narrowing, and the presence of plaque. Comparisons were made by segment and by artery, using linear mixed models. Overall, median curvature and tortuosity were, respectively, 0.094 [0.071; 0.120] and 1.080 [1.040; 1.120] on a per-segment level, and 0.096 [0.078; 0.118] and 1.175 [1.090; 1.420] on a per-artery level. Curvature was associated with significant stenosis at a per-segment (p