Noninvasive Detection of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Atherosclerosis has been a serious health epidemic in developed countries in the late 20th century, and its rising prevalence in developing nations suggests that it will become the chief cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide by early in the next century.¹ Although the principal clinical complications of atherosclerosis, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, usually occur in middle-aged or older people, the atherogenic process actually begins in childhood and early adult life, with a preclinical phase lasting many decades.² This pattern provides a window of opportunity for the presymptomatic detection of the disease, the identification of high-risk subjects, and the . . .