Lipid disorders and plaque imaging

Electron-beam tomography (EBT) plaque imaging has the potential to fundamentally change the practice of prevention, through application of the following principles: (1) Asymptomatic patients with significant calcified plaque should be considered to have a clinical coronary artery disease risk equivalent. (2) Measurement of nontraditional parameters should be incorporated into the evaluation of patients with calcified plaque. (3) Drug treatment should focus on the asymptomatic patient with subclinical atherosclerosis. (4) Change in plaque rather than change in lipid values should guide treatment.