Purpose: To determine the location of coronary atherosclerosis distribution observed in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the database of cardiovascular medicine data from Saitama Sekishinkai Hospital to clarify the association between renal function and angiographic characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis. In total, 3268 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention were included. Propensity score matching revised the total to 1772. The association of renal function with the location and/or distribution of coronary atherosclerosis lesions was then examined.
Results: Overall, coronary lesion was observed in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in 56% patients, whereas 28% and 22% were in the right coronary artery (RCA) and left circumflex coronary artery (LCX), respectively. LAD was most affected and observed in 57% patients with stage 1 CKD. RCA was second-most affected, at 26% CKD stage 1, but it increased to 31%, 38%, and 59% in CKD 3, 4, and 5, respectively. In CKD 5 patients, the RCA was the most affected artery (59%), with 41% LAD lesions. Logistic regression analysis after propensity score matching showed that the odds ratios for an RCA lesion was 3.658 in CKD 5 (p = .025) compared with CKD 1 after adjusting for traditional risk factors.
Conclusion: The prevalence of RCA lesions, but not LAD or LCX lesions, increased with increasing CKD stage. The pathophysiology of coronary atherosclerosis may differ by lesion location. Deterioration of renal function may affect progression of atherosclerosis more in the RCA than in the LAD or LCX.
Keywords: Coronary atherosclerosis; distribution; location; mechanical force.