Cocaine Use, HIV Affect Coronary Plaque Morphology

Cocaine use significantly linked to 23.7 percent of radiomic features identified in plaque; HIV infection linked to 1.3 percent
a human body with a heart
a human body with a heart

TUESDAY, Feb. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Cocaine use and HIV infection are associated with radiomic features quantified for coronary plaque morphology, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Radiology.

Márton Kolossváry, M.D., Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the contribution of different cardiovascular risk factors to changes in coronary plaque morphologic features. Individuals with or without HIV infection and cocaine use and without cardiovascular symptoms underwent coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography between May 2004 and August 2015. The effects of cocaine use, HIV infection, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk on the temporal changes (mean, 4.0 years) in coronary artery disease structure were analyzed for 300 participants.

For each plaque, 1,276 radiomic features were quantified. The researchers found that cocaine use, HIV infection, and elevated ASCVD risk were significantly associated with 23.7, 1.3, and 8.2 percent of the radiomic features (303, 17, and 104 of 1,276, respectively). There was no overlap noted for parameters associated with elevated ASCVD risk or cocaine use and HIV infection. Thirteen clusters were identified among the 409 parameters, of which eight were affected only by cocaine use and three were affected only by ASCVD risk.

"Our results also suggest that interpatient variability of coronary artery disease on coronary CT angiography, regardless of conventional cardiovascular risk, is caused by environmental factors -- not just genetic factors," the authors write. "These include nontraditional risk factors, such as HIV infection and cocaine use."

One author disclosed financial ties to Radiomics Image Analysis.

Abstract/Full Text

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