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Identifying the vulnerable plaque: A review of invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities

Artery Research volume 2, pages 21–34 (2008)Cite this article

Summary

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the current leading cause of death in industrialized countries. The vast majority of acute cardiovascular events (50–70%) are ascribed to thrombosis following rupture of a vulnerable plaque. Therefore there is an urgent need to discern vulnerable, unstable plaques from stable plaques. A variety of imaging modalities, both invasive and non-invasive, have been developed for the assessment of visualization and quantification of atherosclerosis. In this review, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the available imaging techniques, and their clinical potential for assessment of plaque vulnerability.

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  1. Cardiovascular Mechanics and Biofluid Dynamics, Institute Biomedical Technology, Gent University, Gent, Belgium

    Jan G. Kips & Patrick Segers

  2. Heymans Institute for Pharmacology, Gent University, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000, Gent, Belgium

    Jan G. Kips & Luc M. Van Bortel

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Kips, J.G., Segers, P. & Van Bortel, L.M. Identifying the vulnerable plaque: A review of invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities. Artery Res 2, 21–34 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2007.11.002

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Artery Research

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