Characterizing Vulnerable Plaque Features With Intravascular Elastography

Abstract

Background— In vivo detection of vulnerable plaques is presently limited by a lack of diagnostic tools. Intravascular ultrasound elastography is a new technique based on intravascular ultrasound and has the potential to differentiate between different plaques phenotypes. However, the predictive value of intravascular elastography to detect vulnerable plaques had not been studied. Methods and Results— Postmortem coronary arteries were investigated with intravascular elastography and subsequently processed for histology. In histology, a vulnerable plaque was defined as a plaque consisting of a thin cap (P P P Conclusions— Intravascular elastography has a high sensitivity and specificity to detect vulnerable plaques in vitro.