This is probably what I should have had done after my dad was diagnosed with 85% blockage in his left carotid artery. But that would have required his doctor being trained well enough to know that blockage might be hereditary.
PET Imaging Technique Finds Plaques 'Ripe for Rupture'
Positron-emission tomography (PET) can identify recently ruptured
atherosclerotic plaques or those at risk of rupture in patients
using the metabolic tracer 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF), suggests a small prospective observational study[1].
Focal
uptake of the tracer in the coronaries "informs about calcification
activity, which is believed to be a healing response to intense plaque
inflammation," according to the study's lead author, Dr Nikhil V Joshi
(University of Edinburgh, Scotland). It was seen in the culprit artery
of >90% of the group's patients with recent acute MI and in more than
a third of those with stable coronary disease, he explained to
heartwire
.
Plaques with concentrations of
increased tracer uptake showed features linked to rupture risk (positive
remodeling, microcalcification, large necrotic core) at coronary
computed tomography (CT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), those
findings supported by carotid endarterectomy tissue histology.
More at link and names for your doctor to talk to if needed.
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