Atherosclerotic plaque rupture – pathologic basis of plaque stability and instability

Biomarkers of atherosclerotic plaque instability and rupture.

Basic research over the last two decades has identified a large number of molecules pertinent to the atherosclerotic process, which have clearly improved our understanding of the underlying pathology. It is now well established that inflammation represents a major feature which is present in the vessel wall throughout all stages of the disease until the final pathophysiologic steps, representin...

4 Atherosclerotic plaque rupture

The arterial system is more than an intricate plumbing system for the transport of blood; it is a highly complex organ that interacts with its environment. The major function of the vessel wall, and more specifically the endothelial lining, is to maintain an adequate blood supply to the end organ that it is supplying. This is achieved by regulatory mechanisms that control vascular tone, inflamm...

Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture

The idiom “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” describes scenarios where seemingly minor incidents eventuate in a sudden, unexpected, and often detrimental downfall. In the case of atherosclerosis, over time multiple subclinical cellular events result in the development of unstable, vulnerable atherosclerotic lesions, which leads to the rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, culminating in the...

Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture

It is generally established that the unstable plaque is the major cause of acute clinical sequelae of atherosclerosis. Unfortunately, terms indicating lesions prone to plaque instability, such as “vulnerable plaque,” and the different phenotypes of unstable plaques, such as plaque rupture, plaque fissuring, intraplaque hemorrhage, and erosion, are often used interchangeably. Moreover, the diffe...

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture: an overview