The vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque: Scope of the literature

Annals of Internal Medicine

Volumn 153, Issue 6, 2010, Pages 387-395

  Alsheikh Ali, Alawi A ^a   Kitsios, Georgios D ^b   Balk, Ethan M ^b   Lau, Joseph ^b   Ip, Stanley ^b  

^a SHEIKH KHALIFA MEDICAL CITY   (United Arab Emirates)

^b TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BIOLOGICAL MARKER; LIPID;

ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME; ARTICLE; ATHERECTOMY; ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE; CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY; CLINICAL EVALUATION; COMPUTER ASSISTED TOMOGRAPHY; HUMAN; MEDLINE; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; PREDICTION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE; DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING; INFLAMMATION; PATHOLOGY; REVIEW; RISK FACTOR; RUPTURE;

BIOLOGICAL MARKERS; CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE; DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING; HUMANS; INFLAMMATION; LIPIDS; RISK FACTORS; RUPTURE, SPONTANEOUS;

EID: 77957371083     PISSN: 00034819     EISSN: 15393704     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-153-6-201009210-00272     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2009 Update (All Charts). Accessed at www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml? identifier=3018163 on 17 August 2009.
2. World Health Organization. Cardiovascular Diseases Fact Sheet. Accessed at www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/print.html on 17 August 2009.
3. Cannon CP, Braunwald E, McCabe CH, Rader DJ, Rouleau JL, Belder R, et al; Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 22 Investigators. Intensive versus moderate lipid lowering with statins after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:1495-504. [PMID: 15007110]
4. Waxman S, Ishibashi F, Muller JE. Detection and treatment of vulnerable plaques and vulnerable patients: novel approaches to prevention of coronary events. Circulation. 2006;114:2390-411. [PMID: 17130356]
5. Moreno PR. Vulnerable plaque: definition, diagnosis, and treatment. Cardiol Clin. 2010;28:1-30. [PMID: 19962047]
6. Alsheikh-Ali AA, Kitsios GD, Balk EM, Mahoney AM, Lau J, Ip S. Vulnerable Atherosclerotic Plaque. Technical Brief No. 4 (Prepared by Tufts Evidence-based Practice Center under contract no. HHSA-290-02-0022-EPC II.) AHRQ Publication No. 10-EHC062-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; August 2010. Accessed at http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov on 17 August 2010.
7. Lau J, Kent D, Tatsioni A, Sun Y, Wang C, Chew P, et al. Vulnerable Plaques: A Brief Review of the Concept and Proposed Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment. Rockville, MD; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Accessed at www.ahrq.gov/clinic/ta/placque/ on 11 August 2010.
8. Muller JE, Tofler GH, Stone PH. Circadian variation and triggers of onset of acute cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 1989;79:733-43. [PMID: 2647318]
9. Ambrose JA, Winters SL, Arora RR, Eng A, Riccio A, Gorlin R, et al. Angiographic evolution of coronary artery morphology in unstable angina. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1986;7:472-8. [PMID: 3950227]
10. Little WC, Constantinescu M, Applegate RJ, Kutcher MA, Burrows MT, Kahl FR, et al. Can coronary angiography predict the site of a subsequent myocardial infarction in patients with mild-to-moderate coronary artery disease? Circulation. 1988;78:1157-66. [PMID: 3180375]
11. Hackett D, Davies G, Maseri A. Pre-existing coronary stenoses in patients with first myocardial infarction are not necessarily severe. Eur Heart J. 1988;9:1317-23. [PMID: 3229426]
12. Giroud D, Li JM, Urban P, Meier B, Rutishauer W. Relation of the site of acute myocardial infarction to the most severe coronary arterial stenosis at prior angiography. Am J Cardiol. 1992;69:729-32. [PMID: 1546645]
13. Naqvi TZ, Hachamovitch R, Berman D, Buchbinder N, Kiat H, Shah PK. Does the presence and site of myocardial ischemia on perfusion scintigraphy predict the occurrence and site of future myocardial infarction in patients with stable coronary artery disease? Am J Cardiol. 1997;79:1521-4. [PMID: 9185646]
14. Kolodgie FD, Virmani R, Burke AP, Farb A, Weber DK, Kutys R, et al. Pathologic assessment of the vulnerable human coronary plaque. Heart. 2004;90:1385-91. [PMID: 15547008]
15. Narula J, Garg P, Achenbach S, Motoyama S, Virmani R, Strauss HW. Arithmetic of vulnerable plaques for noninvasive imaging. Nat Clin Pract Cardiovasc Med. 2008;5 Suppl 2:S2-10. [PMID: 18641603]
16. Virmani R, Burke AP, Farb A, Kolodgie FD. Pathology of the vulnerable plaque. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;47:C13-8. [PMID: 16631505]
17. Naghavi M, Libby P, Falk E, Casscells SW, Litovsky S, Rumberger J, et al. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies: Part I. Circulation. 2003;108:1664-72. [PMID: 14530185]
18. Virmani R, Kolodgie FD, Burke AP, Farb A, Schwartz SM. Lessons from sudden coronary death: a comprehensive morphological classification scheme for atherosclerotic lesions. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2000;20:1262-75. [PMID: 10807742]
19. Motoyama S, Sarai M, Harigaya H, Anno H, Inoue K, Hara T, et al. Computed tomographic angiography characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques subsequently resulting in acute coronary syndrome. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;54:49-57. [PMID: 19555840]
20. Kim SH, Hong MK, Park DW, Lee SW, Kim YH, Lee CW, et al. Impact of plaque characteristics analyzed by intravascular ultrasound on long-term clinical outcomes. Am J Cardiol. 2009;103:1221-6. [PMID: 19406263]
21. Bayturan O, Tuzcu EM, Nicholls SJ, Balog C, Lavoie A, Uno K, et al. Attenuated plaque at nonculprit lesions in patients enrolled in intravascular ultrasound atherosclerosis progression trials. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2009;2:672-8. [PMID: 19628192]
22. Ohtani T, Ueda Y, Mizote I, Oyabu J, Okada K, Hirayama A, et al. Number of yellow plaques detected in a coronary artery is associated with future risk of acute coronary syndrome: detection of vulnerable patients by angioscopy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;47:2194-200. [PMID: 16750684]
23. Lee SG, Lee CW, Hong MK, Kim JJ, Park SW, Park SJ. Change of multiple complex coronary plaques in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a study with coronary angiography. Am Heart J. 2004;147:281-6. [PMID: 14760326]
24. Takaya N, Yuan C, Chu B, Saam T, Underhill H, Cai J, et al. Association between carotid plaque characteristics and subsequent ischemic cerebrovascular events: a prospective assessment with MRI - initial results. Stroke. 2006;37:818-23. [PMID: 16469957]
25. Altaf N, MacSweeney ST, Gladman J, Auer DP. Carotid intraplaque hemorrhage predicts recurrent symptoms in patients with high-grade carotid stenosis. Stroke. 2007;38:1633-5. [PMID: 17379827]
26. Underhill HR, Yuan C, Yarnykh VL, Chu B, Oikawa M, Dong L, et al. Predictors of surface disruption with MR imaging in asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2010;31:487-93. [PMID: 19833801]
27. Reiter M, Effenberger I, Sabeti S, Mlekusch W, Schlager O, Dick P, et al. Increasing carotid plaque echolucency is predictive of cardiovascular events in high-risk patients. Radiology. 2008;248:1050-5. [PMID: 18710994]
28. Hashimoto H, Tagaya M, Niki H, Etani H. Computer-assisted analysis of heterogeneity on B-mode imaging predicts instability of asymptomatic carotid plaque. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009;28:357-64. [PMID: 19628937]
29. Brajović MD, Marković N, Loncar G, Sekularac N, Kordić D, Despotović N, et al. The influence of various morphologic and hemodynamic carotid plaque characteristics on neurological events onset and deaths. ScientificWorldJournal. 2009;9:509-21. [PMID: 19578708]
30. Takaya N, Yuan C, Chu B, Saam T, Polissar NL, Jarvik GP, et al. Presence of intraplaque hemorrhage stimulates progression of carotid atherosclerotic plaques: a high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study. Circulation. 2005;111:2768-75. [PMID: 15911695]
31. Panayiotou A, Griffin M, Georgiou N, Bond D, Tyllis T, Tziakouri-Shiakalli C, et al. ApoB/ApoA1 ratio and subclinical atherosclerosis. Int Angiol. 2008;27:74-80. [PMID: 18277343]
32. Martin RM, Gunnell D, Whitley E, Nicolaides A, Griffin M, Georgiou N, et al. Associations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, IGF-II, IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-2 and IGFBP-3 with ultrasound measures of atherosclerosis and plaque stability in an older adult population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008;93:1331-8. [PMID: 18211967]
33. Barlis P, Serruys PW, Gonzalo N, van der Giessen WJ, de Jaegere PJ, Regar E. Assessment of culprit and remote coronary narrowings using optical coherence tomography with long-term outcomes. Am J Cardiol. 2008;102:391-5. [PMID: 18678293]
34. Serruys PW, García-García HM, Buszman P, Erne P, Verheye S, Aschermann M, et al; Integrated Biomarker and Imaging Study-2 Investigators. Effects of the direct lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) inhibitor darapladib on human coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Circulation. 2008;118:1172-82. [PMID: 18765397]
35. Thies F, Garry JM, Yaqoob P, Rerkasem K, Williams J, Shearman CP, et al. Association of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with stability of atherosclerotic plaques: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2003;361:477-85. [PMID: 12583947]
36. Schmidt C, Fagerberg B, Wikstrand J, Hulthe J; RIS Study Group. Multiple risk factor intervention reduces cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients with echolucent plaques in the carotid artery. J Intern Med. 2003;253:430-8. [PMID: 12653872]
37. Marfella R, D'Amico M, Di Filippo C, Baldi A, Siniscalchi M, Sasso FC, et al. Increased activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in patients with symptomatic carotid disease is associated with enhanced inflammation and may destabilize the atherosclerotic plaque: effects of rosiglitazone treatment. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;47:2444-55. [PMID: 16781372]
38. Okada K, Ueda Y, Oyabu J, Ogasawara N, Hirayama A, Kodama K. Plaque color analysis by the conventional yellow-color grading system and quantitative measurement using LCH color space. J Interv Cardiol. 2007;20:324-34. [PMID: 17880328]
39. Annovazzi A, Bonanno E, Arca M, D'Alessandria C, Marcoccia A, Spagnoli LG, et al. 99mTc-interleukin-2 scintigraphy for the in vivo imaging of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2006;33:117-26. [PMID: 16220305]
40. Nakamura T, Obata JE, Kitta Y, Takano H, Kobayashi T, Fujioka D, et al. Rapid stabilization of vulnerable carotid plaque within 1 month of pitavastatin treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2008;51:365-71. [PMID: 18427279]
41. Watanabe K, Sugiyama S, Kugiyama K, Honda O, Fukushima H, Koga H, et al. Stabilization of carotid atheroma assessed by quantitative ultrasound analysis in nonhypercholesterolemic patients with coronary artery disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;46:2022-30. [PMID: 16325036]
42. Kadoglou NP, Gerasimidis T, Moumtzouoglou A, Kapelouzou A, Sailer N, Fotiadis G, et al. Intensive lipid-lowering therapy ameliorates novel calcification markers and GSM score in patients with carotid stenosis. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2008;35:661-8. [PMID: 18395477]
43. Kunte H, Amberger N, Busch MA, Rückert RI, Meiners S, Harms L. Markers of instability in high-risk carotid plaques are reduced by statins. J Vasc Surg. 2008;47:513-22. [PMID: 18295103]
44. Koutouzis M, Nomikos A, Nikolidakis S, Tzavara V, Andrikopoulos V, Nikolaou N, et al. Statin treated patients have reduced intraplaque angiogenesis in carotid endarterectomy specimens. Atherosclerosis. 2007;192:457-63. [PMID: 17335827]
45. Pucci A, Sheiban I, Formato L, Celeste A, Brscic E, Moretti C, et al. In vivo coronary plaque histology in patients with stable and acute coronary syndromes: relationships with hyperlipidemic status and statin treatment. Atherosclerosis. 2007;194:189-95. [PMID: 16970947]
46. Hirano M, Nakamura T, Kitta Y, Yano T, Kobayashi T, Sano K, et al. Rapid improvement of carotid plaque echogenicity within 1 month of pioglitazone treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Atherosclerosis. 2009; 203:483-8. [PMID: 18757056]
47. Hirayama A, Saito S, Ueda Y, Takayama T, Honye J, Komatsu S, et al. Qualitative and quantitative changes in coronary plaque associated with atorvastatin therapy. Circ J. 2009;73:718-25. [PMID: 19225206]
48. Takarada S, Imanishi T, Kubo T, Tanimoto T, Kitabata H, Nakamura N, et al. Effect of statin therapy on coronary fibrous-cap thickness in patients with acute coronary syndrome: assessment by optical coherence tomography study. Atherosclerosis. 2009;202:491-7. [PMID: 18572175]
49. Tang TY, Howarth SP, Miller SR, Graves MJ, Patterson AJ, U-King-Im JM, et al. The ATHEROMA (Atorvastatin Therapy: Effects on Reduction of Macrophage Activity) Study. Evaluation using ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in carotid disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:2039-50. [PMID: 19477353]
50. Yamada K, Yoshimura S, Kawasaki M, Enomoto Y, Asano T, Minatoguchi S, et al. Effects of atorvastatin on carotid atherosclerotic plaques: a randomized trial for quantitative tissue characterization of carotid atherosclerotic plaques with integrated backscatter ultrasound. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009;28:417-24. [PMID: 19707015]
51. Nissen SE, Wolski K. Effect of rosiglitazone on the risk of myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:2457-71. [PMID: 17517853]
52. Davies MJ. Pathology of arterial thrombosis. Br Med Bull. 1994;50:789-802. [PMID: 7804731]
53. Burke AP, Kolodgie FD, Farb A, Weber DK, Malcom GT, Smialek J, et al. Healed plaque ruptures and sudden coronary death: evidence that subclinical rupture has a role in plaque progression. Circulation. 2001;103:934-40. [PMID: 11181466]
54. Nighoghossian N, Derex L, Douek P. The vulnerable carotid artery plaque: current imaging methods and new perspectives. Stroke. 2005;36:2764-72. [PMID: 16282537]
55. Gibson CM, Sandor T, Stone PH, Pasternak RC, Rosner B, Sacks FM. Quantitative angiographic and statistical methods to assess serial changes in coronary luminal diameter and implications for atherosclerosis regression trials. Am J Cardiol. 1992;69:1286-90. [PMID: 1585861]