Heart Disease In The News

Fatty plaques more dangerous than calcium plaques
February 28, 2001

Calcium deposits are a prominent feature of many atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries.  Indeed, looking for calcium in the arterial walls is the idea behind the Ultrafast CT scans, and getting rid of calcium in plaques is the theory behind folk "remedies" such as chelation therapy.

Now it appears that atherosclerotic plaques that are heavily calcified may be relatively stable, and relatively unlikely to rupture.  (Rupturing of atherosclerotic plaques is the event that triggers the clotting of blood within the coronary ateries - the cause of most heart attacks.)  Instead, plaques loaded with fatty deposits are the ones more prone to rupture.  This information appears in an article in the February 27 issue of Circulation.

Methods are being developed to detect fat-laden plaques before they rupture.

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