Plaque burden, arterial remodeling and plaque vulnerability: determined by systemic factors?
Aryan Vink, MD*  ,
Arjan H. Schoneveld, BSc* ,
Wietske Richard, MD*,
Dominique P. V. de Kleijn, PhD* ,
Erling Falk, MD, PhD, FACC ,
Cornelius Borst, MD, PhD, FACC* and
Gerard Pasterkamp, MD, PhD*
* Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital (Skejby), Aarhus, Denmark
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Figure 1 Plot of average plaque size in left versus right femoral arteries. Plaque size left indicates average plaque size of the left femoral artery. The average arterial plaque size was defined as the average value of all plaque areas in an artery.
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Figure 2 (A) Example of an individual with a significant correlation between plaque area and internal elastic lamina (IEL) area in both right and left femoral artery. Plot of IEL area versus plaque area. This individual shows significant enlargement in response to plaque formation in both arteries. (B) Example of an individual without correlation in both arteries. This individual shows no enlargement in response to plaque formation in both arteries.
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Figure 3 Example of a vulnerable plaque with a large lipid-rich core and local minor picrosirius red staining of the cap confirmed by polarized light microscopy (A and B) and staining of CD68 in the cap and shoulder (C).
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