Coronary Atherosclerosis- imaging, biology and mechanics

Abstract

In this thesis, (intravascular) imaging, pathobiology and biomechanical modelling were combined to: 1) describe existing animal models for atherosclerosis and discuss the role biomechanics play in plaque development in these models; 2) further elucidate the involvement of the biomechanical factors wall shear stress and helical flow in the development of coronary atherosclerotic plaques, and to assess the potential of these biomechanical factors and of specific lipoproteins as new biomarkers for atherosclerotic disease development; 3) extend the interpretation of imaging data derived from two commonly used invasive imaging techniques to improve plaque and patient risk-stratification