Morphological characteristics of intermediate coronary lesions associated with adverse long-term clinical outcomes

The interest for the clinical diagnosis of vulnerable plaques(VP) boosted 3 decades ago with the widespread use of intracoronary imaging(ICI). Initially, intravascular ultrasound(IVUS) provided novel insights on plaque characteristics impossible to recognized by angiography [1]. IVUS was able to visualize the entire vessel wall readily assessing plaque morphology and composition together with remodeling phenomena[1]. Subsequently, virtual histology(VH), another ultrasound-based technique, demonstrated its value to gain further insights on plaque composition using a more sophisticated analysis of the radiofrequency signal [2].
Source: International Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research