Imaging Plaque Inflammation in Higher-Risk Patients: What Do We Know and What Are We Looking For?

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition complicating cholesterol accumulation within the artery wall. Inflammation is believed to play an important role in the formation, progression, and ultimately the rupture of atherosclerotic plaques (the principle event leading to most myocardial infarctions and strokes). An enhanced understanding of the inflammatory process within the atheroma may therefore facilitate risk stratification and treatment strategies. Molecular imaging techniques such as PET/CT have the ability to quantify arterial inflammation and assess the high-risk features of atheromas thus may be useful for identifying patients who are at higher risk for an atherothrombotic event. In this review, we focus on the potential of FDG-PET/CT as a tool to measure arterial inflammation, enhance risk stratification, and to evaluate novel therapies directed against atherosclerotic disease. Additionally, this review will provide a discussion on current challenges as well as future directions. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.