Coronary CT Angiographic Measures of Adverse Atherosclerotic Plaque Features

Abstract

The incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is extremely high and increasing, and is one of serious health issues in the word. Since acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the main causes of cardiac death, the modalities to forestall AMI should be required. Less than 50% of subjects presenting with AMI, however, do not have premonitory symptoms, and many lesions that lead AMI are not significant severity stenosis. In this regard, the gold standard methods to assess CAD, such as invasive coronary disease or conventional stress testing, may not be able to detect these high-risk plaque features, the so-called adverse plaque. Coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) is an emerging modality to detect the presence, extent, and severity of CAD as well as plaque characteristics. Several recent studies investigated the utility of CCTA for adverse plaque. The current review summarizes the detection, assessment, and risk stratification of adverse plaque by CCTA.