Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography -derived plaque burden is associated with the risk of cardiovascular events and is expected to be utilized in clinical practice. Understanding of CT quantitative plaque volume compares to normative values in the general population is clinically important for determining management. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of coronary artery plaque volume in general population and to develop nomographic quantitative plaque volume using the Miami Heart Study, a large community-based cohort study.
Methods: A total of 2,301 asymptomatic subjects without coronary artery disease (CAD) enrolled in the Miami Heart Study were included. Quantitative assessments of atherosclerotic plaque volume (total, calcified, and non-calcified plaque) were performed using artificial intelligence-guided quantitative coronary computed tomography angiography analysis (AI-QCT). The percentiles of the plaque distribution by gender and age were estimated with nonparametric techniques.
Results: The mean age was 53.5 years and 50.4% were male. The majority of study participants were Hispanic/Latino (47.2%) and White (85.5%). In terms of traditional risk factors, approximately one-third of the cohort were current or former smokers, 4.3% had diabetes, 24.9% had hypertension, and 34.9% had high cholesterol or lipid abnormalities. Overall, 93.1% of men and 84.6% of women had any plaque using AI-QCT. The median total plaque volume was 54 mm³ (IQR 16-126 mm³) and increased with age. Male subjects had more median total plaque volume, calcified plaque volume, and noncalcified plaque volume than female subjects (80 mm³ vs 34mm³, 4 mm³ vs 2 mm³, and 66 mm³ vs 27 mm³, respectively). Younger individuals tend to have a higher percentage of noncalcified plaque.
Conclusions: In this asymptomatic population without known CAD, 93.1% of men and 84.6% of women had CAD detected using AI-QCT. Additionally, we developed age- and sex-specific nomograms for atherosclerotic plaque volume. Our data enhance the understanding of plaque volume distribution in general population and should be an important indicator in clinical practice.