Atherosclerotic Plaque Imaging: Aorta and Carotid

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has emerged as a powerful tool with which to study atherosclerosis. In this chapter we describe how CMR can be used to accurately assess not only the amount of atherosclerotic plaque across multiple vascular beds but also the nature of that plaque providing a detailed soft tissue characterization to differentiate stable from unstable plaque phenotypes. Moreover, the assessment of atherosclerotic disease activity has also become possible with the emergence of targeted MR contrast agents and hybrid MR and positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. In combination, CMR therefore provides a versatile, comprehensive, and multiparametric assessment of atherosclerosis in humans, although further work is required to validate these approaches and to transfer them in to the coronary arteries.