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Imaging Atherosclerosis and Risk of Plaque Rupture

  • Clinical Trials and Their Interpretations (J Plutzky, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Atherosclerosis imaging strategies can delineate characteristics of plaques at risk of rupture and thrombosis. Structural plaque imaging identifies high-risk plaque features, including lipid pools, thin fibrous caps, and intraplaque hemorrhage. New molecular imaging techniques complement structural imaging approaches by illuminating important features of plaque biology, with a prominent focus on detecting inflammation as a high-risk phenotype. As we unravel the molecular and structural characteristics underlying thrombosis-prone plaques, there is significant promise for eventual early identification and prediction of atherosclerotic plaque complications before they occur. Here we focus on recent imaging insights into high-risk arterial plaques, the etiologic agent of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and sudden cardiac death.

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Funding Sources

NIH R01 HL108229, MGH SPARK Award, American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid 13GRNT1760040.

Conflict of Interest

Farouc Jaffer - Research grant: Abbott Vascular, Merck, Kowa. Eric Osborn - no conflicts.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric A. Osborn

  2. Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Simches Research Building 3206, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Eric A. Osborn & Farouc A. Jaffer

  3. Center for Molecular Imaging Research and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Farouc A. Jaffer

Authors
  1. Eric A. Osborn
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Correspondence to Farouc A. Jaffer.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Clinical Trials and Their Interpretations

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Osborn, E.A., Jaffer, F.A. Imaging Atherosclerosis and Risk of Plaque Rupture. Curr Atheroscler Rep 15, 359 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-013-0359-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-013-0359-z

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