Coronary Artery Disease in Asymptomatic Young Adults: Its Prevalence According to Coronary Artery Disease Risk Stratification and the CT Characteristics

OBJECTIVE We aimed at evaluating the prevalence and CT characteristics of occult coronary artery disease (CAD) in young Korean adults under 40 years of age by performing coronary CT angiography (CCTA). MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively enrolled 112 consecutive asymptomatic subjects (90 men, mean age: 35.6 +/- 3.7 years) who underwent CCTA as part of a general health evaluation. We classified the subjects into three National Cholesterol Education Program risk categories and we assessed the plaque characteristics on CCTA according to the number of involved vessels, the location and type of plaques and vascular remodeling. RESULTS Twelve individuals had CAD (11%, 11 men). The prevalence of CAD was significantly higher in the subgroups with moderate (22%) or high (25%) risk than that in the low risk subgroup (5%) (p < 0.05). Nine patients had single-vessel disease and three patients had two-vessel disease. The most common location for plaque was the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (60%). All the patients had non-significant stenosis and plaque, including the non-calcified (27%), mixed (47%) and calcified (27%) types. Positive vascular remodeling was identified in all the patients with non-calcified or mixed plaques. CONCLUSION The prevalence of occult CAD was not negligible in the asymptomatic young adults with moderate to high risk, and this suggests the importance of management and risk factor modification in this population. All the patients had non-significant stenosis, and one fourth of the plaques did not show calcification.