Molecular and metabolic imaging of atherosclerosis.

TLDR

Atherosclerosis is a systemic, often asymptomatic disease that is the leading cause of premature death in the western world, with its first clinical manifestations frequently being sudden cardiac death, stroke, or myocardial infarction, and while x‑ray angiography is the current gold standard, it inadequately captures the disease’s pathobiology, underscoring the need for improved imaging. This article aims to outline the biology of atherosclerosis and review imaging techniques that detect metabolic or inflammatory changes within atherosclerotic plaques. The review focuses on imaging modalities capable of visualizing metabolic or inflammatory activity in plaques, highlighting their potential to overcome the limitations of conventional angiography.

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease that affects most major arteries of the body and is the most common cause of premature death in the western world. It develops slowly and often asymptomatically, so that for many patients its first manifestation is sudden cardiac death, stroke, or myocardial infarction. The current gold standard for imaging atherosclerosis is x-ray angiography. However, recent advances in understanding of the pathobiology of atherosclerosis have highlighted the inadequacies of this technique and the need for better imaging approaches. The purpose of this article is to briefly outline the biology of atherosclerosis and to review the techniques available to image it, concentrating specifically on those that detect metabolic or inflammatory changes within the atherosclerotic plaque.