Modalities To Identify Inflammation in An Atherosclerotic Plaque

The presence of inflammation in the atherosclerotic plaque has been considered as one of the initial events which convert a stable plaque into an unstable and vulnerable plaque. With the recent understanding vulnerable plaque erosion and rupture, subsequent thrombosis is the underlying cause of acute ischemic events.This article focuses on some of the imaging modalities that are currently available to detect the inflammatory process. Over the last three decades, much work has been done to develop imaging modalities which can diagnose atherosclerosis at least in its intermediate stages and visualize the stage of active inflammation within the vessel wall which converts a stable plaque into an unstable one.

It is this process that generates erosion and plaque rupture with subsequent embolization and thrombosis, resulting in acute ischemic events. Inflammation plays a critical role in the…