Plaque erosion masquerading as spontaneous coronary artery dissection: A case of sudden coronary death.

The three most common mechanisms of thrombosis in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are plaque rupture, plaque erosion and calcified nodule. Plaque erosion occurs over an intact fibrous cap, commonly over pathological intimal thickening (PIT) rather than thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and is more common among younger and female patients. A very rare mechanism of ACS is spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), resulting from the formation of an intramural hematoma and/or intimal disruption.

Intravascular imaging and histological correlates of medial and intimal calcification in peripheral artery disease.

Background: In peripheral artery disease, two different types of calcification are frequently observed, i.e., medial and intimal calcification.

Vascular responses to coronary calcification following implantation of newer-generation drug-eluting stents in humans: impact on healing.

Aims: Vascular calcification is routinely encountered in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and severe coronary calcification is a known predictor of in-stent restenosis and stent thrombosis. However, the histopathologic mechanisms behind such events have not been systematically described.

Methods And Results: From our registry of 1211 stents, a total of 134 newer-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) (Xience, Resolute-Integrity, PROMUS-Element, and Synergy) with duration of implant ≥30 days were histologically analysed.