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.

Characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque distribution in coronary artery bifurcations: an intravascular ultrasound analysis.

Objective: Vessel bifurcations are prone to atherosclerotic plaque accumulation. Using volumetric intravascular ultrasound analysis, we investigated atheroma distribution at human coronary bifurcations in vivo.

Methods: We analyzed plaque distribution in 49 left anterior descending coronary artery-diagonal and 20 left circumflex coronary artery-obtuse marginal bifurcations with <50% angiographic stenosis.

Variability of area measurements obtained with different intravascular ultrasound catheter systems: Impact on clinical trials and a method for accurate calibration.

Background: Atherosclerotic plaque burden is the major end point in ongoing progression trials. Intravascular ultrasound allows precise measurements of coronary artery dimensions. However, the variability of measurements among different catheter systems is incompletely characterized.