title: [Intracoronary ultrasound in atherosclerotic disease and angioplasty].
abstract: Intracoronary ultrasound is an adjuvant to coronary angiography increasingly used in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease and during coronary angioplasty with stenting. On the basis of the literature and our own experience, we review the value of intracoronary ultrasound. Intracoronary ultrasound is performed as part of a cardiac catheterisation with the use of miniature ultrasound transducers in the coronary artery. Electronic signals are processed to create images of the arterial lumen and wall. In contrast to coronary angiography the ultrasound technique can give details of both the arterial wall and the lumen. Detailed information of the extent of the atherosclerotic process and its localisation in the arterial wall is obtained and the technique allows quantitative measurements. Ultrasound guidance improves the quality of coronary angioplasty with balloon dilatation alone and especially during stenting. Intracoronary ultrasound has significantly increased our knowledge of coronary artery disease; it is increasingly being used during coronary interventions.
authors.affiliation: Hjertemedisinsk avdeling, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim.
authors.forename: Stig-Erlend
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Baerøy
authors.forename: Gaute H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vik-Mo
mesh_terms: D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D015607:Stents; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods