Imaging of atherosclerosis

Abstract

Advances in atherosclerosis imaging technology and research have provided a range of diagnostic tools to characterize high-risk plaque in vivo; however, these important vascular imaging methods additionally promise great scientific and translational applications beyond this quest. When combined with conventional anatomic-and hemodynamic-based assessments of disease severity, cross-sectional multimodal imaging incorporating molecular probes and other novel noninvasive techniques can add detailed interrogation of plaque composition, activity, and overall disease burden. In the catheterization laboratory, intravascular imaging provides unparalleled access to the world beneath the plaque surface, allowing tissue characterization and measurement of cap thickness with micrometer spatial resolution. Atherosclerosis imaging captures key data that reveal snapshots into underlying biology, which can test our understanding of fundamental research questions and shape our approach toward patient management. Imaging can also be used to quantify response to therapeutic interventions and ultimately help predict cardiovascular risk. Although there are undeniable barriers to clinical translation, many of these hold-ups might soon be surpassed by rapidly evolving innovations to improve image acquisition, coregistration, motion correction, and reduce radiation exposure. This article provides a comprehensive review of current and experimental atherosclerosis imaging methods and their uses in research and potential for translation to the clinic. (Circ Res. 2016;118:750-769.

RETRACTED: PRDM16 Upregulation Induced by MicroRNA-448 Inhibition Alleviates Atherosclerosis via the TGF-β Signaling Pathway Inactivation

“…Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the intima of arteries (Takx et al, 2016). Existing literature has emphasized the distinct effect of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) on the initiation and progression of AS (Doran et al, 2008).…”

Cardiovascular imaging 2015 in the International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

“…Several excellent reviews on the topics of atherosclerosis and multi-modalityimaging were published in 2015. Takx et al [8] provided an overview of coronary and non-coronary atherosclerosis and summarized the current understanding of different available imaging techniques. The integration of these techniques in clinical practice may allow for superior risk stratification and therapeutic planning and monitoring.…”

Assessment of regional left ventricular myocardial strain in patients with left anterior descending coronary stenosis using computed tomography feature tracking

“…However, the majority of patients with significant LAD stenosis without a history of MI frequently have normal resting electrocardiograms (ECG) and echocardiogram [ 4 , 5 ]. Although coronary angiography (CAG) is the gold standard for coronary stenosis diagnosis, computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the tool most widely used to visualize the coronary artery because of its noninvasiveness, high degree of temporal resolution and excellent measurement reproducibility [ 6 , 7 ].…”