Atherosclerotic Carotid Plaque Composition and Incident Stroke and Coronary Events.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that atherosclerotic plaque composition rather than plaque size is linked to ischemic cardiovascular events, yet largescale population-based data in asymptomatic individuals remain scarce.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate carotid plaque composition in relation to incident stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a population-based setting.

Methods: Between 2007 and 2012, 1,349 persons (mean age 72 years, 49.

Change in Carotid Intraplaque Hemorrhage in Community-dwelling Subjects: A Follow-up Study Using Serial MR Imaging.

Purpose To investigate intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) development and change over time. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval and written informed consent from all participants were obtained. From a population-based study on subclinical atherosclerosis, 40 participants with IPH at baseline magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (53 carotids with IPH) were randomly selected and were matched with 27 control subjects (53 carotids without IPH) to undergo a second MR examination (mean interval, 17 months ± 4 [standard deviation]) to assess IPH change.

Coexistence of Calcification, Intraplaque Hemorrhage and Lipid Core within the Asymptomatic Atherosclerotic Carotid Plaque: The Rotterdam Study.

Background: There is a growing amount of evidence suggesting that the composition of carotid atherosclerotic plaques may be of clinical relevance. Yet, little is known on the coexistence of potentially vulnerable and stabilizing components within asymptomatic plaques. Therefore, in this study we set out to investigate the coexistence of intraplaque calcification, hemorrhage and lipid core within the carotid artery using a multi-modality imaging approach.

Blood pressure parameters and carotid intraplaque hemorrhage as measured by magnetic resonance imaging: The Rotterdam Study.

Intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) is a characteristic of the vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque that has been associated with ischemic stroke. Not much is known about determinants of IPH. We studied whether blood pressure parameters are associated with presence of IPH.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lipid core carotid artery plaques in the elderly: the Rotterdam Study.

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke and the risk increases with severity of airflow limitation. Even though vulnerable carotid artery plaque components, such as intraplaque hemorrhage and lipid core, place persons at high risk for ischemic events, the plaque composition in patients with COPD has never been explored.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of carotid wall thickening, the different carotid artery plaque components, and their relationship with severity of airflow limitation in elderly patients with COPD.

Semiautomatic carotid lumen segmentation for quantification of lumen geometry in multispectral MRI.

Quantitative information about the geometry of the carotid artery bifurcation is relevant for investigating the onset and progression of atherosclerotic disease. This paper proposes an automatic approach for quantifying the carotid bifurcation angle, carotid area ratio, carotid bulb size and the vessel tortuosity from multispectral MRI. First, the internal and external carotid centerlines are determined by finding a minimum cost path between user-defined seed points where the local costs are based on medialness and intensity.

Determinants of magnetic resonance imaging detected carotid plaque components: the Rotterdam Study.

Aims: Components of carotid atherosclerotic plaque such as intraplaque haemorrhage and lipid core are important determinants of plaque progression and destabilization. The association between plaque components and risk factors for cardiovascular disease is not well studied.

Methods And Results: Participants from the population-based Rotterdam Study with carotid wall thickening on ultrasound (n = 1006) underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging for carotid plaque characterization.

Association between carotid artery plaque ulceration and plaque composition evaluated with multidetector CT angiography.

Background And Purpose: Symptomatic carotid artery plaque ulceration is associated with distinct plaque components such as a large lipid-rich necrotic core (LR-NC) in ischemic stroke patients with a ≥50% carotid stenosis. We evaluated the associations between carotid artery plaque ulceration and plaque characteristics in ischemic stroke patients with ≥50% stenosis, as well as in those with a low degree of stenosis (0% to 49%).

Methods: Consecutive patients (n=346) with symptoms in the anterior circulation were evaluated with multidetector CT angiography (MDCTA) for the presence of atherosclerotic plaque, degree of stenosis, and plaque ulceration in the symptomatic carotid artery.

A semi-automatic method for segmentation of the carotid bifurcation and bifurcation angle quantification on black blood MRA.

Quantitative information about the geometry of the carotid artery bifurcation may help in predicting the development of atherosclerosis. A geodesic active contours based segmentation method combining both gradient and intensity information was developed for semi-automatic, accurate and robust quantification of the carotid bifurcation angle in Black Blood MRA data. The segmentation method was evaluated by comparing its accuracy to inter and intra observer variability on a large dataset that has been acquired as part of a longitudinal population study which investigates the natural progression of carotid atherosclerosis.

MRI-based quantification of outflow boundary conditions for computational fluid dynamics of stenosed human carotid arteries.

Accurate assessment of wall shear stress (WSS) is vital for studies on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. WSS distributions can be obtained by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using patient-specific geometries and flow measurements. If patient-specific flow measurements are unavailable, in- and outflow have to be estimated, for instance by using Murray's Law.