Microvasculature and intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerotic carotid lesions: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study

Background The presence of intraplaque haemorrhage (IPH) has been related to plaque rupture, is associated with plaque progression, and predicts cerebrovascular events. However, the mechanisms leading to IPH are not fully understood. The dominant view is that IPH is caused by leakage of erythrocytes from immature microvessels. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is an association between atherosclerotic plaque microvasculature and presence of IPH in a relatively large prospective cohort study of patients with symptomatic carotid plaque.