Impact of endothelial shear stress on coronary atherosclerotic plaque progression and composition: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Background and aims Intracoronary pressure gradients and translesional flow patterns have been correlated with coronary plaque progression and lesion destabilization. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between endothelial shear stress and plaque progression and to evaluate the effect of shear forces on coronary plaque features. Methods A systematic review was conducted in medical on-line databases. Selected were studies including human participants who underwent coronary anatomy assessment with computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based wall shear stress (WSS) calculation at baseline with anatomical evaluation at follow-up. A total of six studies were included for data extraction and analysis. Results The meta-analysis encompassed 31′385 arterial segments from 136 patients. Lower translesional WSS values were significantly associated with a reduction in lumen area (mean difference − 0.88, 95% CI -1.13 to −0.62), an increase in plaque burden (mean difference 4.32, 95% CI 1.65–6.99), and an increase in necrotic core area (mean difference 0.02, 95% CI 0.02–0.03) at follow-up imaging. Elevated WSS values were associated with an increase in lumen area (mean difference 0.78, 95% CI 0.34–1.21) and a reduction in both fibrofatty (mean difference − 0.02, 95% CI -0.03 to −0.01) and fibrous plaque areas (mean difference − 0.03, 95% CI -0.03 to −0.03). Conclusion This meta-analysis shows that WSS parameters were related to vulnerable plaque features at follow-up. These results emphasize the impact of endothelial shear forces on coronary plaque growth and composition. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the role of WSS in guiding clinical decision-making.