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The role of lipoprotein (a) (Lp[a]) in the development of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and high-risk plaque (HRP) in primary prevention patients with stable chest pain is unknown. We sought to evaluate the relation of Lp(a), independent of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), with the presence of obstructive CAD and HRP to improve understanding of the residual risk imparted by Lp(a) on CAD. We performed a secondary analysis in Prospective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of Chest Pain (PROMISE) Trial participants who had coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) performed and Lp(a) data available. Lp(a) concentration was analyzed as a binary variable, with elevated Lp(a) defined as ≥50 mg/100 ml. "Stenosis ≥50%" was defined as ≥50% coronary artery stenosis in any epicardial vessel, and "stenosis ≥70%" was defined as ≥70% coronary artery stenosis in any epicardial vessel and/or ≥50% left main coronary artery stenosis. HRP was defined as presence of plaque on CTA imaging with evidence of positive remodeling, low computed tomography attenuation, or napkin-ring sign. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the association between Lp(a) and the outcomes of obstructive CAD and HRP stratified by LDL-C ≥100 versus <100 mg/100 ml. Of the 1,815 patients who underwent CTA and had Lp(a) data available, those with elevated Lp(a) were more commonly women and Black than those with lower Lp(a). Elevated Lp(a) was associated with stenosis ≥50% (odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.14 to 2.15, p = 0.005) and stenosis ≥70% (odds ratio 2.05, 95% confidence interval 1.34 to 3.11, p = 0.0008) in the multivariate models, and this relation was not modified by LDL-C ≥100 versus <100 mg/100 ml (interaction p >0.4). Elevated Lp(a) was not associated with HRP when adjusted for obstructive CAD. This study of patients without known CAD found that elevated Lp(a) ≥50 mg/100 ml was independently associated with the presence of obstructive CAD regardless of controlled versus uncontrolled LDL-C but was not independently associated with HRP when stenosis ≥50% or ≥70% was accounted for. Further research is warranted to delineate the role of Lp(a) in the residual risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease that patients may have despite optimal LDL-C lowering., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Shah reports research grants from Amgen, Janssen, Eli Lily, Novartis, and National Institutes of Health, and service as a consultant/advisor for Merck, Amgen, Norvartis, and New Amsterdam Pharma. Dr. Ferencik reports consulting fees from Cleerly, HeartFlow, Elucid, Siemens Healthineers, and BioMarin, and stock options from Elucid, and is a member of an advisory board for Cleerly. Dr. Lu reports research funding to his institution from the American Heart Association, AstraZeneca, Ionis, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, MedImmune, National Academy of Medicine, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions outside the submitted work. Dr. Foldyna reports research grants from National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL170877, 5P30DK040561), AstraZeneca, Cleerly Health, MedImmune, and MedTrace. Dr. Pagidipati reports research support from Alnylam, Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Eggland's Best, Eli Lilly (Esperion), Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Merck; service on consultation/advisory panels for Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, CRISPR Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Merck, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk; service as an Executive Committee member for trials sponsored by Novo Nordisk and by Amgen and by AstraZeneca; service on a Data and Safety Monitoring Board for trials sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and Novartis; and service on a medical advisory board for Miga Health. The remaining authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND More than half of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occur in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease and are often attributed to the rupture of high-risk coronary atherosclerotic plaque (HRP). Blood-based biomarkers that associate with imaging-defined HRP and predict MACE are lacking. METHODS AND RESULTS Nuclear magnetic resonance-based lipoprotein particle profiling was performed in the biomarker substudy of the PROMISE (Prospective Multicenter Imaging Study for Evaluation of Chest Pain) trial (N=4019) in participants who had stable symptoms suspicious for coronary artery disease. Principal components analysis was used to reduce the number of correlated lipoproteins into uncorrelated lipoprotein factors. The association of lipoprotein factors and individual lipoproteins of significantly associated factors with core laboratory determined coronary computed tomographic angiography features of HRP was determined using logistic regression models. The association of HRP-associated lipoproteins with MACE was assessed in the PROMISE trial and validated in an independent coronary angiography biorepository (CATHGEN [Catheterization Genetics]) using Cox proportional hazards models. Lipoprotein factors composed of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses were associated with HRP. In these factors, large HDL (odds ratio [OR], 0.70 [95% CI, 0.56-0.85]; P <0.001) and medium HDL (OR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.72-0.98]; P =0.028) and HDL size (OR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.69-0.96]; P =0.018) were associated with HRP in multivariable models. Medium HDL was associated with MACE in PROMISE (hazard ratio [HR], 0.76 [95% CI, 0.63-0.92]; P =0.004), which was validated in the CATHGEN biorepository (HR, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.88-0.94]; P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS Large and medium HDL subclasses and HDL size inversely associate with HRP features, and medium HDL subclasses inversely associate with MACE in PROMISE trial participants. These findings may aid in the risk stratification of individuals with chest pain and provide insight into the pathobiology of HRP. REGISTRATION URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01174550.