Molecular imaging of coronary atherosclerosis; predictive of an acute myocardial infarction?

Excerpt

Coronary atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Plaque complications occur most commonly from plaque rupture, and also from plaque erosion and calcified nodule formation. Over the past years, advanced structural, metabolic and molecular imaging technologies have emerged and offer new windows into atherosclerosis pathophysiology [1‐4]. Molecular imaging complements traditional structural plaque imaging through the use of targeted probes that identify specific molecules and/or biological processes in vivo [5]. Preclinical atherosclerosis molecular imaging has successfully identified nearly all established high-risk plaque characteristics including inflammation, thrombosis, neo-vessel formation, apoptosis, and haemorrhage. However, clinical translation of molecular imaging has been slow compared with the rapid growth within the field. …