In the absence of a fixed relationship between plaque vulnerability and flow-limiting stenosis, alternative morphological expressions exist that could predict the liability of coronary lesions to rapidly progress or rupture, causing acute coronary syndromes. Modern multidetector computed tomography technology is capable of noninvasively detecting lesion location, attenuation, remodeling and calcification pattern, which may be considered as surrogate morphological markers of vulnerability and could contribute to increase the prognostic value of individual coronary plaque burden.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
doi.org/10.2459/JCM.0b013e32832e8ce5, hdl.handle.net/1765/17903
Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine (Hagerstown)
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Pugliese, F., Meijboom, W. B., Ligthart, J., la Grutta, L., Vourvouri, E., Rodriguez-Granillo, G., … Cademartiri, F. (2009). Parameters for coronary plaque vulnerability assessed with multidetector computed tomography and intracoronary ultrasound correlation. Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine (Hagerstown) (Vol. 10, pp. 821–826). doi:10.2459/JCM.0b013e32832e8ce5