Regression of a large lipid-rich pool in the coronary artery during treatment with statin detected by intravascular ultrasound: A case report

A 54-year-old man with unstable angina presented with severe stenosis of the middle segment of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Percutaneous coronary stent implantation and serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) were performed. IVUS detected a non-culprit coronary plaque with a large lipid-rich pool in the proximal segment of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Atorvastatin 10 mg/day was given to reduce his cholesterol level for 2 years after the stent implantation. This patient had no cardiac events, and the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level reduced from 171 to 88 mg/d/at follow-up. Two-year follow-up IVUS examination revealed the reduction of plaque burden associated with regression of the lipid-rich pool size. This case may indicate that statin could contribute to the regression of lipid-rich plaque and to the stability of coronary plaque.