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European Heart Journal Advance Access originally published online on July 4, 2006
European Heart Journal 2006 27(15):1761-1763; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehl129
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© The European Society of Cardiology 2006. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Coronary artery remodelling in atherosclerosis: unfortunately unpredictable

Raffaele De Caterina* and Marco Zimarino

Institute of Cardiology and Center of Excellence on Aging, ‘G. d'Annunzio’ University, C/o Ospedale S. Camillo de Lellis, Via Forlanini, 50, 66100 Chieti, Italy

* Corresponding author. Tel: +39 (0) 871 41512; fax: +39 (0) 871 402817. E-mail address: rdecater@unich.it

This editorial refers to ‘Relation between baseline plaque burden and subsequent remodelling of atherosclerotic left main coronary arteries: a serial intravascular ultrasound study with long-term (≥12 months) follow-up’{dagger} by M. Hartmann et al., on page 1778

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Coronary heart disease is the main cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and occurs because of the growth and complications of coronary atherosclerosis. Therefore, efforts in the understanding of how atherosclerotic plaques grow and undergo complications, and in identifying predictors of such dramatic events are welcome and worthwhile. Atherosclerosis has long been considered a relentless process by which the accumulation of lipids and extracellular matrix leads to progressive lumen encroachment. Two notions in the past 20 years have dramatically altered this conception. One is that most cases of myocardial infarction likely derive from acute plaque complications (plaque fissuring in most instances), and not from progressive lumen stenosis1. The other is that the growth of atherosclerotic plaques is not necessarily towards the lumen, but may also occur towards the outer vessel layers, leading to an actual overall enlargement of the vessel, contrary to the previous tenet that atherosclerosis . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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Related articles in EHJ:

Relation between baseline plaque burden and subsequent remodelling of atherosclerotic left main coronary arteries: a serial intravascular ultrasound study with long-term (≥12 months) follow-up
Marc Hartmann, Clemens von Birgelen, Gary S. Mintz, Patrick M.J. Verhorst, and Raimund Erbel
EHJ 2006 27: 1778-1784. [Abstract] [FREE Full Text]