Noninvasive diagnosis of vulnerable coronary plaque

Table 1 Concepts related to vulnerable coronary plaque[16]

Culprit lesion	Coronary lesion considered to be responsible for the clinical event, usually plaque complicated by intraluminal thrombosis
Thrombosed plaque	Plaque with an overlying thrombus extending into the vessel lumen either occlusive or non-occlusive
Eroded plaque	Thrombosed plaque (mainly fibrotic or proteoglycan-rich) due to loss or dysfunction of endothelial cells without associated rupture
Plaque with calcified nodule	Heavily calcified protruding plaque with loss or dysfunction of endothelial cells
Vulnerable, high-risk or thrombosis prone plaque	Plaque at increased risk of thrombosis and rapid stenosis progression TCFA: Inflamed plaque with a thin cap covering a lipid-rich necrotic core
Vulnerable patient	Patient at high-risk to experience a cardiovascular ischemic event due to a high atherosclerotic burden, high-risk plaques and/or thrombogenic blood

TCFA: Thin-cap fibroatheroma.