STRUCTURAL CONSTRICTION OF THE ARTERY WALL CONTRIBUTES TO STENOSIS SEVERITY IN UNSTABLE ANGINA

Eight consecutive patients with unstable angina underwent intravascula r ultrasound imaging of the culprit artery with measurements recorded at the stenosis and at an adjacent reference site. In all patients, to tal artery cross-sectional area was smaller at the stenosis site than at the reference site, indicating that a structural change in the arte ry wall due to a constrictive process appears to contribute to the wor sening of stenosis severity associated with unstable angina.