Coronary Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaque: Current Perspectives.
Coronary Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaque: Current Perspectives.
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DOI：
10.1161/jaha.117.005543
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发表时间：
2017-03-17
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
Pietri P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Stefanadis C;Antoniou CK;Tsiachris D;Pietri P
Atherosclerosis is the most common form of vascular disease and constitutes the major cause of death, with 17.5 million related deaths annually (31% of global mortality). 1 Atherosclerotic plaque represents the hallmark lesion of atherosclerosis. Most, but not all, 2, 3 acute cardiac events occur in the context of plaque-related thrombus formation, with the remainder associated with primary cardiomyopathy or arrhythmogenesis (primary myocardial electrical instability or ischemia related). Given that advances in technology allow for imaging, access, and localized treatment of atherosclerotic plaques, enormous efforts have been devoted to recognizing “vulnerable plaques,” defined as rupture-prone (or, more teleologically relevant, event-prone) plaques and, subsequently, treating them. 4Despite the above, results of vulnerable plaque-oriented approaches, in terms of both personalized risk assessment and guided treatment effects, have generally been poor, thus raising doubts regarding the validity and usefulness of the vulnerable plaque concept. 5–8 In the present review, processes associated with decreased stability and related to the vulnerable plaque hypothesis, along with current and experimental methods for detecting vulnerable plaques, are discussed. Finally, potential alternative strategies, representing an amalgamation of differing views of atherosclerosis, will be explored.
