Unstable Coronary-Artery Plaques

It is ironic and instructive that in the age of cellular and molecular biology, great advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease continue to be made by pathologists who perform meticulous and imaginative studies. The concept of stable and unstable atherosclerotic plaques and implications for coronary thrombosis and myocardial infarction can be attributed to several great cardiovascular pathologists during the past century.What characterizes an arterial plaque that is vulnerable to rupture? What causes the vulnerable plaque to rupture? How can plaque rupture be prevented? These are critically important questions in cardiovascular medicine, because if the causes . . .