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Notas:
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Atherothrombotic disease (ATD) is a progressive
disorder and its most common clinical
manifestations, acute myocardial infarction and
stroke, are responsible for the highest morbidity and
mortality rates in the Western world. Sudden death due to
infarction with no prior symptoms occurs in 50% of men and
64% of women.1
One of the main tools to control the incidence of vascular disease
is prevention. Formulas are available to estimate cardiovascular
risk (Framingham risk score, etc.)2 They are based
on epidemiological studies that determine the risk of suffering
a cardiovascular event (fatal or non-fatal) within 5 to 10
years.3 While the available system to calculate cardiovascular
risk is easily generalisable, and universal, it does present
some difficulties. The main drawback is its low sensitivity for
detecting individuals at a high risk to suffer a cardiovascular
event. Large epidemiological studies show that 62% of subjects
with a prior history of myocardial infarction present
none or only one of the cardiovascular risk factors,4 which,
undoubtedly, prevents them from being properly identified at
a time to take effective preventive actions.
In recent years, there have been significant technological
advances in medical imaging techniques, particularly in
the field of vascular disease. Below, we describe the advantages,
disadvantages and uses of imaging techniques in
the general population and in chronic kidney disease
(CKD) patients. |
