Unravelling the role of macrophages in cardiovascular inflammation through imaging: a state-of-the-art review.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability for patients across the world. Our understanding of atherosclerosis as a primary cholesterol issue has diversified, with a significant dysregulated inflammatory component that largely remains untreated and continues to drive persistent cardiovascular risk. Macrophages are central to atherosclerotic inflammation, and they exist along a functional spectrum between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory extremes.