Skip to main content

Vasa Vasorum Imaging

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
  • 1266 Accesses

Part of the book series: Contemporary Cardiology ((CONCARD))

Abstract

The majority of acute coronary syndromes are the result of coronary plaque rupture. Recent studies have revealed the presence of neovascularization in and around the plaque to be a common feature of presumed rupture-prone (vulnerable) plaques. Intravascular ultrasound combined with contrast enhancement agents has been shown to be useful for the detection and quantification of vasa vasorum (VV) and angiogenesis within the vessel wall. In this chapter, the two state-of-the-art techniques for VV imaging are reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. M. Naghavi, P. Libby, E. Falk, S. W. Casscells, S. Litovsky, J. Rumberger, J. J. Badimon, C. Stefanadis, P. Moreno, G. Pasterkamp, Z. Fayad, P. H. Stone, S. Waxman, P. Raggi, M. Madjid, A. Zarrabi, A. Burke, C. Yuan, P. J. Fitzgerald, D. S. Siscovick, C. L. de Korte, M. Aikawa, K. E. Airaksinen, G. Assmann, C. R. Becker, J. H. Chesebro, A. Farb, Z. S. Galis, C. Jackson, I. K. Jang, W. Koenig, R. A. Lodder, K. March, J. Demirovic, M. Navab, S. G. Priori, M. D. Rekhter, R. Bahr, S. M. Grundy, R. Mehran, A. Colombo, E. Boerwinkle, C. Ballantyne, W. Insull, Jr., R. S. Schwartz, R. Vogel, P. W. Serruys, G. K. Hansson, D. P. Faxon, S. Kaul, H. Drexler, P. Greenland, J. E. Muller, R. Virmani, P. M. Ridker, D. P. Zipes, P. K. Shah, and J. T. Willerson, “From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: A call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies: Part I,” Circulation, vol. 108, pp. 1664–1672, 2003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. A. P. Burke, A. Farb, G. T. Malcom, Y. Liang, J. Smialek, and R. Virmani, “Coronary risk factors and plaque morphology in men with coronary disease who died suddenly,” N Engl J Med, vol. 336, pp. 1276–1282, 1997.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. P. Constantinides, “Cause of thrombosis in human atherosclerotic arteries,” Am J Cardiol, vol. 66, pp. 37G–40G, 1990.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. F. D. Kolodgie, A. P. Burke, A. Farb, H. K. Gold, J. Yuan, J. Narula, A. V. Finn, and R. Virmani, “The thin-cap fibroatheroma: A type of vulnerable plaque: The major precursor lesion to acute coronary syndromes,” Curr Opin Cardiol, vol. 16, pp. 285–292, 2001.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. R. Virmani, F. D. Kolodgie, A. P. Burke, A. V. Finn, H. K. Gold, T. N. Tulenko, S. P. Wrenn, and J. Narula, “Atherosclerotic plaque progression and vulnerability to rupture: Angiogenesis as a source of intraplaque hemorrhage,” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, vol. 25, pp. 2054–2061, 2005.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. R. Virmani, F. D. Kolodgie, A. P. Burke, A. Farb, and S. M. Schwartz, “Lessons from sudden coronary death a comprehensive morphological classification scheme for atherosclerotic lesions,” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, vol. 20, pp. 1262–1275, 2000.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. M. Vavuranakis, T. G. Papaioannou, I. A. Kakadiaris, S. M. O’Malley, M. Naghavi, K. Filis, E. A. Sanidas, A. Papalois, I. Stamatopoulos, and C. Stefanadis, “Detection of perivascular blood flow in vivo by contrast-enhanced intracoronary ultrasonography and image analysis: An animal study,” Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol, vol. 34, pp. 1319–1323, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. D. D. Heistad and M. L. Marcus, “Role of vasa vasorum in nourishment of the aorta,” Blood Vessels, vol. 16, pp. 225–238, 1979.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. C. Stefanadis, C. Vlachopoulos, P. Karayannacos, H. Boudoulas, C. Stratos, T. Filippides, M. Agapitos, and P. Toutouzas, “Effect of vasa vasorum flow on structure and function of the aorta in experimental animals,” Circulation, vol. 91, pp. 2669–2678, 1995.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. H. M. Kwon, G. Sangiorgi, E. L. Ritman, C. McKenna, D. R. Holmes Jr, R. S. Schwartz, and A. Lerman, “Enhanced coronary vasa vasorum neovascularization in experimental hypercholesterolemia,” J Clin Invest, vol. 101, p. 1551–6, 1998.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. P. R. Moreno, K. R. Purushothaman, V. Fuster, and W. N. O’Connor, “Intimomedial interface damage and adventitial inflammation is increased beneath disrupted atherosclerosis in the aorta: Implications for plaque vulnerability,” Circulation, vol. 105, pp. 2504–2511, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. K. S. Moulton, K. Vakili, D. Zurakowski, M. Soliman, C. Butterfield, E. Sylvin, K. M. Lo, S. Gillies, K. Javaherian, and J. Folkman, “Inhibition of plaque neovascularization reduces macrophage accumulation and progression of advanced atherosclerosis,” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2003, vol. 100, pp. 4736–4741.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. M. Fleiner, M. Kummer, M. Mirlacher, G. Sauter, G. Cathomas, R. Krapf, and B. C. Biedermann, “Arterial neovascularization and inflammation in vulnerable patients: Early and late signs of symptomatic atherosclerosis,” Circulation, vol. 110, pp. 2843–2850, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. P. R. Moreno, K. R. Purushothaman, V. Fuster, D. Echeverri, H. Truszczynska, S. K. Sharma, J. J. Badimon, and W. N. O’Connor, “Plaque neovascularization is increased in ruptured atherosclerotic lesions of human aorta: Implications for plaque vulnerability,” Circulation, vol. 110, pp. 2032–2038, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. F. D. Kolodgie, H. K. Gold, A. P. Burke, D. R. Fowler, H. S. Kruth, D. K. Weber, A. Farb, L. J. Guerrero, M. Hayase, R. Kutys, J. Narula, A. V. Finn, and R. Virmani, “Intraplaque hemorrhage and progression of coronary atheroma,” N Engl J Med, vol. 349, pp. 2316–2325, 2003.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. M. R. Hayden and S. C. Tyagi, “Vasa vasorum in plaque angiogenesis, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and atheroscleropathy: A malignant transformation,” Cardiovasc Diabetol, vol. 3, 1, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. N. de Jong, A. Bouakaz, and F. J. T. Cate, “Contrast harmonic imaging,” Ultrasonics, vol. 40, pp. 567–573, 2002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. S. M. O’Malley, M. Vavuranakis, M. Naghavi, and I. A. Kakadiaris, “Intravascular ultrasound-based imaging of vasa vasorum for the detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque,” Int Conf Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv, 2005 vol. 8, pp. 343–351.

    Google Scholar 

  19. M. Vavuranakis, I. A. Kakadiaris, S. M. O’Malley, C. Stefanadis, S. Vaina, M. Drakopoulou, I. Mitropoulos, S. Carlier, and M. Naghavi, “Detection of luminal-intimal border and coronary wall enhancement in intravascular ultrasound imaging after injection of microbubbles and simultaneous sonication with transthoracic echocardiography,” Circulation, vol. 112, pp. e1–e2, 2005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. S. Carlier, I. A. Kakadiaris, N. Dib, M. Vavuranakis, C. Stefanadis, S. M. O’Malley, C. J. Hartley, R. W. Metcalfe, R. Mehran, E. Falk, K. Gul, and M. Naghavi, “Vasa vasorum imaging: A new window to the clinical detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques,” Curr Atheroscler Rep, vol. 7, pp. 164–169, 2005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. D. E. Goertz, M. E. Frijlink, N. de Jong, and A. F. van der Steen, “Nonlinear intravascular ultrasound contrast imaging,” Ultrasound Med Biol, vol. 32, pp. 491–502, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. D. E. Goertz, M. E. Frijlink, D. Tempel, L. C. A. van Damme, R. Krams, J. A. Schaar, F. J. ten Cate, P. W. Serruys, N. de Jong, and A. F. W. van der Steen, “Contrast harmonic intravascular ultrasound: A feasibility study for vasa vasorum imaging,” Invest Radiol, vol. 41, pp. 631–638, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. D. E. Goertz, M. E. Frijlink, D. Tempel, V. Bhagwandas, A. Gisolf, R. Krams, N. de Jong, and A. F. van der Steen, “Subharmonic contrast intravascular ultrasound for vasa vasorum imaging,” Ultrasound Med Biol, vol. 33, pp. 1859–1872, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. M. E. Frijlink, D. E. Goertz, L. C. A. van Damme, R. Krams, and A. F. van der Steen, “Intravascular ultrasound tissue harmonic imaging in vivo,” Ultrasonics Symposium, 2004 IEEE, vol. 2, pp. 1118–1121, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  25. M. E. Frijlink, D. E. Goertz, H. J. Vos, E. Tesselaar, G. Blacquicre, A. Gisolf, R. Krams, and A. F. W. van der Steen, “Harmonic intravascular ultrasound imaging with a dual-frequency catheter,” Ultrasound Med Biol, vol. 32, pp. 1649–1654, 2006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. M. Vavuranakis, I. A. Kakadiaris, S. M. O’Malley, T. G. Papaioannou, E. A. Sanidas, M. Naghavi, S. Carlier, D. Tousoulis, and C. Stefanadis, “A new method for assessment of plaque vulnerability based on vasa vasorum imaging, by using contrast-enhanced intravascular ultrasound and differential image analysis,” Int J Cardiol, vol. 130, pp. 23–29, 2008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank S. Carlier, J. Granada, N. Dib, C. Stefanadis, T. Papaioannou, S. Vaina, M. Drakopoulou, and I. Mitropoulos for their contributions and assistance on the UIVUS project. Vasa Vasorum detection and quantification using differential imaging was supported in part by NSF Grant IIS-0431144 and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (SMO). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kakadiaris, I.A. et al. (2011). Vasa Vasorum Imaging. In: Naghavi, M. (eds) Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-179-0_38

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-179-0_38

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-178-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-179-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics