<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Decades of research and experimental studies have investigated various strategies to prevent acute coronary events. However, significantly efficient preventive methods have not been developed and still remains a challenge to determine if a coronary atherosclerotic plaque will become vulnerable and unstable. This review aims to assess the significance of plaque vulnerability markers, more precisely the role of spotty calcifications in the development of major cardiac events, given that coronary calcification is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. Recent studies have suggested that microcalcifications, spotty calcifications, and the presence of the napkin-ring sign are predictive vulnerable plaque features, and their presence may cause plaque instability.</p>
</abstract>

Decades of research and experimental studies have investigated various strategies to prevent acute coronary events. However, significantly efficient preventive methods have not been developed and still remains a challenge to determine if a coronary atherosclerotic plaque will become vulnerable and unstable. This review aims to assess the significance of plaque vulnerability markers, more precisely the role of spotty calcifications in the development of major cardiac events, given that coronary calcification is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. Recent studies have suggested that microcalcifications, spotty calcifications, and the presence of the napkin-ring sign are predictive vulnerable plaque features, and their presence may cause plaque instability.

The Impact of Coronary Artery Calcification on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcomes

Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"The Impact of Coronary Artery Calcification on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcomes"}

Decades of research and experimental studies have investigated various strategies to prevent acute coronary events. However, significantly efficient preventive...

The Impact of Coronary Artery Calcification on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcomes

Published Online: Mar 17, 2021

Page range: 15 - 20

Received: Sep 11, 2020

Accepted: Dec 19, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2021-0007

Keywords
coronary atherosclerosis, vulnerable plaque, unstable plaque, coronary calcification

© 2021 Noémi Mitra et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Impact of Coronary Artery Calcification on Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcomes

Published Online: Mar 17, 2021

Page range: 15 - 20

Received: Sep 11, 2020

Accepted: Dec 19, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2021-0007

Keywordscoronary atherosclerosis, vulnerable plaque, unstable plaque, coronary calcification

© 2021 Noémi Mitra et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
coronary atherosclerosis, vulnerable plaque, unstable plaque, coronary calcification