•
Buildup and hardening of plaque
- fat, cholesterol, white blood
cells, calcium, and others.
Usually due to injury to inner
lining (intima)
•
Narrows arteries restricting
blood flow
•
Can cause blood clots to form
•
Can cause loss of blood flow to
many different parts of the body
causing chronic disease and
potentially loss of organ function
or failure
Atherosclerosis
Source – National institute of health




Intima is the endothelial
lining of smooth muscle in a
blood vessel
Neointima forms on top of
injury or plaque
Previously thought to
originate from the tissue
beneath it (media)
Probably originates from
bone marrow progenitor
cells traveling through
blood stream
Neointima
Diagnosis of Artherosclerosis
• (Angiography)
• coronary calcium scoring by CT
• carotid IMT measurement (ultrasound)
• Intravascular ultrasound
• lipoprotein subclass analysis
• HbA1c, hs-CRP and homocysteine levels
Diagnosis of Artherosclerosis
• (Angiography)
• coronary calcium scoring by CT
• carotid IMT measurement (ultrasound)
• Intravascular ultrasound
• lipoprotein subclass analysis
• HbA1c, hs-CRP and homocysteine levels
Diagnosis of Artherosclerosis
• (Angiography)
• coronary calcium scoring by CT
• carotid IMT measurement (ultrasound)
• Intravascular ultrasound
• lipoprotein subclass analysis
• HbA1c, hs-CRP and homocysteine levels
Most recent…
• nuclear imaging techniques (PET/SPECT)
Drug Eluting Stents
Stents
Advantages and Risks
Prevents fibrosis
Can be a replacement for larger heart
surgery
Thrombosis can still happen
Less clear how long the healing process
is
MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Made in 1980 = first time machine was made
• Medical Imaging technique used in radiology
• Uses no ionizing radiation and no x-ray (Better
than CT)
• More $$ than CT
How does it work?
Uses/Drawbacks
• Disease detection and used after other testing
fails
• Head trauma, brain aneurysms, stroke, tumors
• People with pacemakers can’t use because of
magnet
• Claustrophobia occurs to some patients