ABSTRACT

Complications of atherosclerosis are still the leading cause of death. Atherosclerosis is an insidious process that affects the intimal layers of middle and large arteries. Atheromatous plaques, typical of atherosclerotic lesions, are defined as vulnerable plaques when prone to rupture. Vulnerable plaques are responsible for serious complications in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques plays a central role in the development of these complications. It is anticipated that sudden cardiac and cerebrovascular events will be reduced by increasing diagnostic approaches focusing on the presence of vulnerable plaques. For this purpose, in the first part of this article, we present the molecular findings of atherosclerosis, non-nuclear diagnostic methods used in atherosclerotic plaque imaging, and single photon emission tomography methods, while in the second part, positron emission tomography/computed tomography methods used in the atherosclerotic plaques imaging, follow-up of atherosclerotic therapy, and future target methods are mentioned.