The role of atheromatous plaque rupture in the genesis of myocardial infarction.
The rupture of advanced atheromatous plaques initiates a significant number of cases of coronary artery thrombosis and subsequent myocardial infarction.


OBJECTIVE
The range of outcomes following plaque rupture is determined to a large extent by the interaction between the turbulent arterial stream and the visco-elastic properties of the extruded atheromatous material. Thrombosis is a secondary event. Research into the visco-elastic behaviour of atheromatous material may predict predisposition to myocardial infarction.
D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D001809:Blood Viscosity; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous