TY - JOUR
T1 - Vulnerable plaque imaging
T2 - Updates on new pathobiological mechanisms
AU - Toutouzas, Konstantinos
AU - Benetos, Georgios
AU - Karanasos, Antonios
AU - Chatzizisis, Yiannis S.
AU - Giannopoulos, Andreas A.
AU - Tousoulis, Dimitris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Author.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Early identification of vulnerable, rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques with the optimal goal of cardiovascular event prevention is a field of vigorous research. Despite the advances in imaging modalities and the in vivo identification of many characteristics of vulnerability, few of these plaques actually rupture and even fewer lead to clinical events, questioning the predictive value of the above techniques in clinical practice. Factors causing the higher local vulnerability of the culprit plaque within a prothrombotic environment of widespread inflammation are generally unknown. Newly recognized local features, including microcalcifications and biomechanical factors, seem to contribute. In this review article, we target on new mechanisms, implicated in vulnerable plaque formation and rupture, analysing their potential clinical value.
AB - Early identification of vulnerable, rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques with the optimal goal of cardiovascular event prevention is a field of vigorous research. Despite the advances in imaging modalities and the in vivo identification of many characteristics of vulnerability, few of these plaques actually rupture and even fewer lead to clinical events, questioning the predictive value of the above techniques in clinical practice. Factors causing the higher local vulnerability of the culprit plaque within a prothrombotic environment of widespread inflammation are generally unknown. Newly recognized local features, including microcalcifications and biomechanical factors, seem to contribute. In this review article, we target on new mechanisms, implicated in vulnerable plaque formation and rupture, analysing their potential clinical value.
KW - Endothelial shear stress
KW - Inflammation
KW - MiRNAs
KW - Microcalcifications
KW - Vulnerable plaque
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U2 - 10.1093/eurheartj/ehv508
DO - 10.1093/eurheartj/ehv508
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26419623
AN - SCOPUS:84983111567
SN - 0195-668X
VL - 36
SP - 3147
EP - 3154
JO - European Heart Journal
JF - European Heart Journal
IS - 45
ER -