title: Angiographic patterns and the natural history of the vulnerable plaque.
abstract: Coronary angiography is the gold standard for the identification of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The use of this diagnostic test in the evaluation of many clinical syndromes of CAD has yielded a wealth of angiographic data relative to the vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. This chapter reviews these important data including the limitations of the angiogram in vulnerable plaque detection, angiographic patterns of complex plaques or "culprit lesions," and the natural history of the complex angiographic lesion.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: V Stephen
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Monroe
authors.forename: Leonard D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Parilak
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kerensky
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans