This Article Free upon publication Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content

(Circulation. 2007;115:1823.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Issue Highlights

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	COMPARISON OF INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND AND QUANTITATIVE CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PROGRESSION, by Berry et al.

 
The assessment of coronary artery disease severity, progression, and regression has historically been performed using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA); it is well known, however, that the degree of atherosclerotic plaque is underestimated by QCA. In contrast, intravascular ultrasound has been shown to define the plaque and its composition more accurately. It is not clear how well serial intravascular ultrasound measurements compare to serial QCA measurements. The study by Berry et al in this issue of Circulation compared intravascular ultrasound and QCA at baseline and after 24 months in 525 and 432 patients, respectively. A significant correlation was seen between baseline measures of lumen dimensions using the 2 techniques, but weak correlations between plaque volume and luminal narrowing were observed over time. Disease progression by QCA was associated with a significant increase in plaque volume on intravascular ultrasound, however. While these techniques correlate with each other, the relationship is not strong enough to consider them as equivalent. See p 1851 (editorial p 1824).

	A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF TRANS FATTY ACIDS IN ERYTHROCYTES AND RISK OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE, by Sun et al.

 
Studies have suggested that the type of fat consumed can contribute to cardiovascular disease; specifically, intake of trans fats leads to increased vascular risk. Is it possible to measure this risk from a blood-derived marker? In the current issue of Circulation, Sun and colleagues measured trans fatty acids from erythrocytes in selected participants from the Women’s Health Study. They found that higher total trans fatty acid content in erythrocytes was associated with an elevated risk of developing coronary heart disease even after adjusting for covariates. It . . . [Full Text of this Article]