title: Clinical imaging of the vulnerable plaque in the coronary arteries: new intracoronary diagnostic methods.
abstract: Rupture of a vulnerable plaque is the main cause of acute coronary syndromes and myocardial infarction. The features of rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques have been previously described by pathologists. However, identification of vulnerable plaques in vivo is essential to study their natural history and to evaluate potential treatment modalities. Coronary angiography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, but it is unable to distinguish between stable and unstable plaques and to accurately predict future cardiac events. This current perspective describes the recently developed invasive imaging techniques to detect atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques in the coronary tree.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Thoraxcentre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. francescosaia@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saia
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schaar
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Regar
authors.forename: Gaston
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Pim J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: De Feyter
authors.forename: Frits
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mastik
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marzocchi
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marrozzini
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ortolani
authors.forename: Tullio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Palmerini
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Branzi
authors.forename: Antonius F W
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: van der Steen
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Serruys
mesh_terms: D017546:Angioscopy; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D013817:Thermography; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D014584:User-Computer Interface