Atherosclerosis debunked?

PEOPLE with higher quantities of harder plaque best predicted a risk of heart attacks, while soft plaque did not, researchers said.

“It’s a disease marker, not a risk marker and we think it’s possibly an important predictor,” said Brent Muhlestein from the Intermountain Medical Centre Heart Institute in Utah.

Atherosclerosis is caused when plaque builds up in arteries, narrowing and hardening them.

The idea that soft plaque is more likely to rupture and cause heart attacks than hard calcium deposits in coronary arteries may be wrong, said the study that will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Washington D.C.

“We thought the lipidladen soft plaque was more likely to rupture and cause heart attacks but based on our new research, it’s calcified plaque that seems to be linked to adverse cardiovascular events,” Muhlestein added.

This could mean many patients may not require statin therapy, even though their cholesterol is high.

“Maybe we can find and identify them. If there’s no atherosclerosis, you’re not going to have a heart attack,” Muhlestein said.

For the study, patients were followed for an average of seven years to see if their plaque composition predicted a cardiac event. – IANS