TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Pathological Basis of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease A1 - Narula, Jagat A1 - Virmani, Renu A1 - Narula, Navneet A1 - Ibanez, Borja A1 - Fuster, Valentin A2 - Fuster, Valentin A2 - Narula, Jagat A2 - Vaishnava, Prashant A2 - Leon, Martin B. A2 - Callans, David J. A2 - Rumsfeld, John S. A2 - Poppas, Athena PY - 2022 T2 - Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15e AB - Chapter SummaryThis chapter describes plaque characteristics contributing to coronary thrombosis, provides mechanistic insights into lesion progression, and summarizes diagnostic imaging. At least half of both physiologically and anatomically significant lesions do not fair worse with modern medical therapy than with revascularization, and it is likely that the plaques of event-free patients are stable or have low wall shear stress. Recognition of high-risk plaques is prudent, and it is thus important for clinicians to understand the pathology of atherosclerotic disease of coronary arteries (see Fuster and Hurst’s Central Illustration). Plaque rupture is thought to be responsible for at least two-thirds of cases of coronary thrombosis and subsequent acute coronary events, including sudden death; plaque erosion accounts for most of the remaining cases of thrombosis, and calcified nodules contribute to less than 5% of adverse outcomes. The importance of progressively increasing necrotic core burden covered by thin and inflamed fibrous caps is highlighted. The rapid enlargement of plaques is attributed to repeated subclinical plaque rupture–thrombosis–healing cycles. On the other hand, fibroatheromatous, fibrous or fibrocalcific plaques in the absence of overlying thrombosis, and the presence of significant luminal obstruction form the basis of stable chest pain syndromes. Native coronary atherosclerosis develops over decades to result in clinical events and differs from clinical events associated with accelerated vein graft atherosclerosis or in-stent neoatherosclerosis. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1202443540 ER -