Attenuated plaque at nonculprit lesions in patients enrolled in intravascular ultrasound atherosclerosis progression trials.

Objectives: We investigated attenuated plaque (hypoechoic plaque with deep ultrasonic attenuation despite absence of bright calcium) in nonculprit lesions.

Background: Recent intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) studies describe acoustic shadowing behind large, echolucent, acute culprit lesion sites in the absence of bright calcium. Such "attenuated plaque" is considered a characteristic of high-risk lesions, but its prevalence in stable nonculprit lesions is incompletely known.

Beta-blockers and progression of coronary atherosclerosis: pooled analysis of 4 intravascular ultrasonography trials.

Background: In patients with myocardial infarction, beta-adrenergic blockers reduce recurrent myocardial infarction and total mortality rates. However, whether a direct influence of beta-blockers on coronary atherosclerosis contributes to reduced recurrent myocardial infarction and total mortality rates is not known.

Objective: To assess whether beta-blocker therapy is associated with reduced atheroma progression in adults with known coronary artery disease.

Determinants of arterial wall remodeling during lipid-lowering therapy: serial intravascular ultrasound observations from the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering Therapy (REVERSAL) trial.

Background: Coronary plaque progression and instability are associated with expansive remodeling of the arterial wall. However, the remodeling response during plaque-stabilizing therapy and its relationship to markers of lipid metabolism and inflammation are incompletely understood.

Methods And Results: Serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) data from the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering Therapy (REVERSAL) trial were obtained during 18 months of intensive versus moderate lipid-lowering therapy.

Intravascular ultrasound evidence of angiographically silent progression in coronary atherosclerosis predicts long-term morbidity and mortality after cardiac transplantation.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether angiographically silent early coronary intimal thickening could predict long-term morbidity and mortality.

Background: Although intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is widely used to detect early transplant coronary disease, its prognostic significance has not been well defined.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of 143 patients who underwent early multivessel (2.

Non-invasive assessment of plaque morphology and remodeling in mildly stenotic coronary segments: comparison of 16-slice computed tomography and intravascular ultrasound.

Background: Non-invasive identification and characterization of mildly stenotic atherosclerotic lesions is an increasingly important focus of coronary imaging.

Design: We examined the accuracy of multi (16)-slice computed tomography (MSCT) for imaging of these lesions in comparison with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

Materials: Mildly stenotic segments of the left coronary artery were identified by coronary angiography and analyzed using IVUS and contrast-enhanced MSCT.