Direction of Plaque Progression Is a Significant Predictor in Plaque Vulnerability: An Evaluation by MRI

Dongxiang Xu¹, Chun Yuan¹

This study explores the relationship between the direction of plaque progression and plaque vulnerability. Projection length along the axial and longitudinal directions were analyzed and correlated with subjects symptom status. The statistical results show that plaque progression in the axial direction is a better predictor for patients symptom than longitudinal progression. This means that the plaques morphology change, in addition to plaque size which has been widely used in atherosclerosis research, can potentially be another significant factor to carotid artery disease evaluation and patients symptom prediction.