Severe Negative Remodeling at the Middle Right Coronary Artery without Atheroma Plaque

Arterial remodeling is commonly observed in human atherosclerosis. It is a heterogeneous response ranging from positive remodeling to negative remodeling. Negative remodeling is a condition in which the vessel area decreases in size, often as a result of a structural change in the coronary vessel wall. But its contribution to myocardial ischemia in a de novo lesion has not been clearly shown. A 51-year-old female with exertional angina was admitted to our hospital. Coronary angiography was performed, revealing a severe stenosis at the middle part of the right coronary artery (RCA). Although we predilated ballooning at the middle RCA, the degree of stenosis did not improve. Thus intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was performed. The lesion was not nearly showed plaque burden and severe negative remodeling. Though the cross-sectional narrowing percentage was significant, we decided to medical treatment for fearing coronary perforation by stenting. This case report intends to emphasize that severe coronary stenosis should be performed IVUS before the stenting. We describe a rare case with severe negative remodeling at the middle part of the RCA without atheroma plaque. (Ewha Med J 2012;35(1):65-68)