Changes in Plaque Characteristics After Short-term Statin Therapy as Assessed With Coronary CT
INTENSE Trial is a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-center study with two arms (40 mg intensified statin therapy vs matching placebo for rosuvastatin) among statin-naive patients referred to coronary CT angiography due to stable chest pain, followed for 24 months by using a photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT). INTENSE Trial aims 1) to assess the effect of short-term intensified statin therapy on coronary anatomy and physiology using PCD-CT and 2) to determine the impact of short-term, intensified statin therapy on coronary plaque morphology and hemodynamics to identify statin responder and non-responder patients in addition to testing the hypothesis of plaque memory after the 24-month follow-up period.
• patients referred for coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA)
• females aged 45-75 years and males aged 40-75 years
• presence of at least mild coronary atherosclerosis (luminal stenosis \>25%, with at least one partially calcified or non-calcified plaque)
• statin-naive patients
• ability to understand and provide written informed consent
• FFR-CT value ≥0.75, indicating the absence of hemodynamically significant stenosis