Nicholls Stephen J, Sipahi Ilke, Tuzcu E Murat
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Rev Esp Cardiol. 2006 Jan;59(1):57-66.
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has emerged as a powerful imaging modality for the assessment of the arterial wall and it's response to the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque. The ability to image the coronary arteries on a serial basis provides a unique opportunity for IVUS to monitor the impact that potential anti-atherosclerotic strategies exert on plaque burden. As a result, studies incorporating serial IVUS imaging as the primary endpoint have demonstrated that therapeutic strategies that modify LDL, HDL and blood pressure in patients with established coronary artery disease can have a profound impact on the progression of atherosclerotic plaque. This heralds a paradigm shift that emphasizes plaque regression as a potential target in the development of preventive strategies.
血管内超声（IVUS）已成为一种用于评估动脉壁及其对动脉粥样硬化斑块积聚反应的强大成像方式。连续成像冠状动脉的能力为IVUS提供了一个独特的机会，以监测潜在的抗动脉粥样硬化策略对斑块负荷的影响。因此，以连续IVUS成像作为主要终点的研究表明，在已确诊的冠状动脉疾病患者中，改变低密度脂蛋白、高密度脂蛋白和血压的治疗策略可对动脉粥样硬化斑块的进展产生深远影响。这预示着一种范式转变，即强调斑块消退作为预防策略开发中的一个潜在目标。
