CAROTID PLAQUE NEOVASCULARIZATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

摘要

BACKGROUND: It is thought that the majority of cardiovascular (CV) events are caused by vulnerable plaque. Such lesions are rupture-prone, in part due to neovascularization. It is postulated that plaque vulnerability may be a systemic process and that vulnerable lesions may co-exist at multiple sites in the vascular bed. We sought to examine whether carotid plaque vulnerability, characterized by intraplaque neovascularization detected by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), is associated with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute myocardial infarction (MI).