Sunwon Kim

The OCT-NIRF imaging with a clinical dose of ICG was feasible to accurately assess plaque inflammation and DES-related inflammation in a beating coronary artery. This highly translatable dual-modal molecular-structural imaging strategy could be relevant for clinical intracoronary estimation of high-risk plaques and DES biology.

Coronary plaque destabilization involves alterations in microstructure and biochemical composition; however, no imaging approach allows such comprehensive characterization. Herein, the authors demonstrated a simultaneous microstructural and biochemical assessment of high-risk plaques in the coronary arteries in a beating heart using a fully integrated optical coherence tomography and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm). It was found that plaque components such as lipids, macrophages, lipids+mac

Balloon-injured coronary segments are known to harbor abnormal vasomotion. We evaluated whether de novo coronary lesions treated using drug-coated balloon (DCB) are prone to vasospasm and how they respond to ergonovine and nitrate. Among 132 DCB angioplasty recipients followed, 89 patients underwent ergonovine provocation test at 6–9 months follow-up. Within-subject ergonovine- and nitrate-induced diameter changes were compared among three different sites: DCB-treated vs. angiographically normal

BACKGROUND: Subclinical left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common finding and represents an early sign of diabetic cardiomyopathy. However, the relationship between LV diastolic dysfunction and the incident T2D has not been previously studied. METHODS: A total of 1817 non-diabetic participants (mean age, 54 years; 48% men) from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study who were free of cardiovascular disease were studied. LV structure and function were asses

Pulmonary vein (PV) enlargement is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the predictive value of PV volume for new-onset AF has not been determined. We retrospectively assessed and enrolled non-AF subjects who underwent echocardiography and cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) around the same time and evaluated the development of AF longitudinally. PV volume was assessed by estimating the three-dimensional CCTA-derived mid-diastolic PV volume from the ostium to tertiary branches. Overall,

<b>Objective</b>: Smoking is a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor closely related to arterial stiffness (AS). However, data are lacking regarding the chronic effects of smoking on AS, especially in ex-smoker (ES) who faces remnant cardiovascular risk when compared to never-smokers (NS).<b>Methods</b>: Among 1722 health screening participants, we retrospectively evaluated 652 healthy men with different smoking history [240 current smoker (CS) vs. 228 ES vs. 184 NS]. To assess AS, augmentation

We report here on 2 cases of idiopathic left atrial appendage ostial stenosis (LAA), and this rare finding was detected on transesophageal echocardiography. Its clinical implication is still unknown, given the small number of reported cases. Incompletely ligated LAA has characteristics similar to those observed in idiopathic LAA ostial stenosis, including the narrowed orifice, the small LAA cavity and the accelerated blood flow across the stenotic area. Since the incompletely ligated LAA has bee

Importance: Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) is a molecular imaging technique used to visualize the biochemical composition of atherosclerosis. Novel dual-modal imaging using optical coherence tomography (OCT)-FLIm has the potential to provide both microstructural and biocompositional information on coronary plaques; however, it needs validation for clinical application. Objective: To investigate the clinical feasibility and safety of OCT-FLIm for characterizing plaque compositions in patien

Drug-eluting stent (DES) recipients require 6-12 months of dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT) and long-term aspirin mono-antiplatelet treatment (MAPT). Given the diversity of contemporary antiplatelet agents, antiplatelet treatment (APT) selection is becoming more complicated. We evaluated 15-year APT trends based on nationwide prescription data of 79,654 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using DESs from 2002 to 2018 in Korea. DAPT (80.7%) was the most preferred ini

OBJECTIVES: Knowledge on early adulthood isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) is limited. We compared the clinical and central hemodynamic characteristics of early adulthood IDH, isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and normotension. METHODS: A total of 509 untreated young adults (18-35 years) who underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM; ABPM cohort), 148 who underwent both ABPM and applanation tonometry (ABPM-tonometry cohort) and 26 newly recruited normotensives were analyzed. Th

Drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment is an emerging strategy for de novo coronary artery disease (CAD), but procedural optimization remains uncertain. This study analyzed 317 patients who underwent DCB-based intervention for de novo CAD and angiographic follow-up: SR (successful, stent-like result: diameter stenosis < 20% at follow-up angiography, n = 84, 93 lesions) and Non-SR (n = 224, 358 lesions) groups. Baseline clinical and lesion characteristics were similar, except that SR lesions had lar