Release date: October 26, 2006
Available for credit through: October 23, 2008

Program Description

Rupture-prone (i.e. "vulnerable") plaques are a primary cause of acute coronary syndromes and myocardial infarction. Though the features of rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques have been described by pathologists, the identification of high-risk plaque in vivo remains a challenge. While coronary angiography is the gold standard for diagnosis of a plaque, alternative detection methods that rely upon physical, optical, and mechanical parameters may help to direct treatment decisions and improve clinical outcomes.

Chair

Peter Libby, MD
Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Faculty

John Cooke, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine

Antonius F. W. van der Steen, PhD
Head Biomedical Engineering
Thorax Centre
ErasmusMC, Rotterdam

An evening symposium at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2006

Target Audience

This educational initiative is intended for physicians and other health care professionals who specialize in the field of interventional vascular therapy.

Educational Objectives

Following this educational activity participants will be able to:

Discuss what constitutes a vulnerable or high-risk plaque
Review the role of inflammation and composition of vulnerable plaque
Discuss the rationale for both invasive and non-invasive visualization techniques to assess vulnerable plaque
Describe how plaque assessment potentially impacts prognosis and treatment

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this activity are those of the faculty. They do not reflect the views of Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, any other manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, ArcMesa Educators, or Scinexa, LLC.

The recommendations made in this program are based upon a combination of randomized clinical trials, current guidelines, and the clinical practice experience of the participating panelists. Any medications, diagnostic procedures or treatments discussed by the panelists should not be utilized without evaluation of their patient's conditions. Participants are urged to consult the full prescribing information on any drug mentioned in this activity for recommended dosage, indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse effects before prescribing any medication.

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