Serial Changes of Aortic Vulnerable Plaques Observed via Non-Obstructive General Angioscopy

Abstract

Stabilization of aortic vulnerable plaques has not been fully elucidated. Non-obstructive general angioscopy (NOGA) is a novel method for the detailed evaluation of atheromatous plaques in the aortic intimal wall. A 57year-old man presenting with acute myocardial infarction underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). NOGA was performed for the evaluation of aortic atherosclerosis, and vulnerable puff-chandelier plaques in the aortic arch were identified. After a strictly controlled low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering therapy with a strong statin for 8 months after the primary PCI, NOGA revealed stabilized aortic plaques in the same lesions. Therefore, NOGA may be helpful in evaluating the effects of lipid-lowering therapy on aortic plaque stabilization.

Cholesterol Crystal Embolism in a Patient with Spontaneous Ruptured Aortic Plaques Identified by Non-Obstructive General Angioscopy

“…15) Other reports have suggested that strict lipid-lowering therapies may stabilize SRAPs. 16) These findings suggest that strict lipidcontrol therapy is required to prevent CC embolisms.…”