Abstract
In an effort to improve the prevention of acute coronary syndrome, one of the key priorities in cardiology is the development of methods capable of identifying individuals with a high risk of presence of vulnerable plaques. These plaques possess typical morphological characteristics that can be identified in vivo by using imaging techniques.
The aim of detecting these vulnerable plaques is to determine a higher risk of developing acute coronary syndrome both at patient level and in relation to a particular coronary lesion. The authors present a review of invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities currently used in detecting vulnerable plaques, and discuss the potential therapeutic benefit of these findings.