Angiographic patterns and the natural history of the vulnerable plaque.

ABSTRACT

Coronary angiography is the gold standard for the identification of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The use of this diagnostic test in the evaluation of many clinical syndromes of CAD has yielded a wealth of angiographic data relative to the vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. This chapter reviews these important data including the limitations of the angiogram in vulnerable plaque detection, angiographic patterns of complex plaques or "culprit lesions," and the natural history of the complex angiographic lesion.