A Comparative Study of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Young and Old

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is an important cause of sudden and unexpected deaths in the young people. It is assumed that thrombosis and plaque hemorrhage are commonly associated with sudden deaths from coronary atherosclerosis in the young. In this study, we compared the histological patterns of atherosclerosis in young and old populations to see whether an association exists between the histological pattern of atherosclerosis in the young and thrombosis or plaque hemorrhage.

All autopsy cases of coronary atherosclerosis in young people (aged younger than 40 years) in comparison with an equal number of randomly selected older people (older than 65 years) over a period of 4 and a half years in the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto, Canada, were reviewed to characterize the gross and histologic appearance. There were 28 cases of atherosclerosis in young people ("the young"). Twenty-three (82%) of the young had eccentric atherosclerosis compared with 11 (39%) of the old. An inflammatory response was seen in all 28 (100%) of the young in comparison with 17 (61%) of the old. Thirteen (47%) of the young compared with 3 (11%) of the old had thrombosis, whereas 9 (32%) of the young and 17 (61%) of the old had plaque hemorrhage. Pultaceous debris was the principal component in 11 atherosclerotic plaques (39%) in the young, followed by foam cells in 7 (25%). In the older group, pultaceous debris was the principal component in 18 (64%) followed by dense fibrous tissue in 5 (18%).

The morphology in coronary atherosclerosis of the young is significantly different from the old. Coronary atherosclerosis in the young commonly shows an eccentric distribution with associated inflammation. Thrombosis is commoner among the young, whereas plaque hemorrhage is commoner among the old.