Carotid Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Window to Study Atherosclerosis and Identify High-Risk Plaques

Despite recent advances in the understanding and etiology of cardiovascular disease, it remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A great deal of research has been dedicated to investigating and identifying plaque instability: the so-called "vulnerable plaque". A reli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Circulation Journal 2009, Vol.73(10), pp.1765-1773
Main Authors: Oikawa, Minako, Ota, Hideki, Takaya, Norihide, Miller, Zach, Hatsukami, Thomas S, Yuan, Chun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology
Carotid arteries
Carotid Artery Diseases - complications
Carotid Artery Diseases - diagnosis
Carotid Artery Diseases - pathology
Disease Progression
Humans
Imaging
Magnetic Resonance Angiography
Magnetic resonance imaging
Predictive Value of Tests
Reproducibility of Results
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Rupture
Time Factors
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Summary:Despite recent advances in the understanding and etiology of cardiovascular disease, it remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A great deal of research has been dedicated to investigating and identifying plaque instability: the so-called "vulnerable plaque". A reliable, in vivo, imaging method capable of identifying plaque characteristics associated with high-risk plaque will be immensely useful for evaluating plaque status and predicting future events. With excellent soft-tissue contrast and resolution, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the ability to visualize features of vulnerable plaques, as well as perform longitudinal studies on the etiology, progression, and regression of atherosclerotic plaque. This review will cover the current state-of-the-art and new developments in carotid MRI to characterize atherosclerosis and its use in clinical diagnoses and longitudinal studies to understand mechanisms of lesion progression and regression. (Circ J 2009; 73: 1765-1773)
ISSN:1346-9843
1347-4820
DOI:10.1253/circj.CJ-09-0617