Kukreja N, Garcia-Garcia H M, Serruys P W
Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Minerva Cardioangiol. 2006 Oct;54(5):603-17.
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the Western world and an ever-increasing problem in developing countries. Unheralded acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are common initial manifestations of coronary atherosclerosis and are often caused by lesions which have previously not generated symptoms. Histopathological studies have identified several plaque morphologies associated with ACS. However, the natural history of these high-risk or vulnerable lesions remains unknown and the limited knowledge about their eventual prognosis is provided by retrospective histopathological studies. Detection of these vulnerable plaques in vivo is essential to study their natural history and to evaluate potential treatment modalities and, therefore, may ultimately have an important impact on the prevention of acute myocardial infarction and death. Currently, there are several diagnostic imaging tools capable of evaluating determinants of plaque vulnerability. These techniques can provide information on the vessel lumen and wall size, tissue composition and the status of inflammation. This article aims to review the current status of these imaging techniques.
冠状动脉疾病是西方世界死亡率和发病率的主要原因，并且在发展中国家也是一个日益严重的问题。未被察觉的急性冠状动脉综合征（ACS）是冠状动脉粥样硬化常见的初始表现，通常由先前未产生症状的病变引起。组织病理学研究已经确定了几种与ACS相关的斑块形态。然而，这些高危或易损病变的自然史仍然未知，并且回顾性组织病理学研究提供了关于其最终预后的有限知识。在体内检测这些易损斑块对于研究其自然史和评估潜在治疗方式至关重要，因此，最终可能对预防急性心肌梗死和死亡产生重要影响。目前，有几种诊断成像工具能够评估斑块易损性的决定因素。这些技术可以提供有关血管腔和壁大小、组织成分以及炎症状态的信息。本文旨在综述这些成像技术的现状。
