title: Non-invasive measurement of coronary plaque from coronary CT angiography and its clinical implications.
abstract: Coronary CT angiography (CTA) is increasingly used worldwide for direct, non-invasive evaluation of the coronary arteries. Advances in computed tomography (CT) technology over the last decade have enabled such reliable imaging of the coronary arteries. Beyond arterial stenosis, coronary CTA also permits assessment of atherosclerotic plaque (including plaque burden) and coronary artery remodeling, previously only achievable through invasive means. It has been shown that coronary plaque volumes for non-calcified and mixed plaques and the arterial remodeling index, correlate closely with invasive intravascular ultrasound. Several studies have also shown a strong relationship of adverse plaque features imaged by coronary CTA with acute coronary syndrome, all-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular events and myocardial ischemia. The aim of this review is to summarize current methods for quantitative measurement of atherosclerotic plaque features from coronary CTA and to discuss their clinical implications.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. deyd@cshs.org
authors.forename: Damini
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuhbaeck
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Achenbach
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*