Atherosclerosis imaging to detect and monitor cardiovascular risk.

Atherosclerosis imaging techniques, such as coronary computed tomography, carotid ultrasound, and vascular magnetic resonance imaging, accurately measure the extent of subclinical atherosclerosis as a biomarker of the effects of an individual patient's coronary risk factors. Among the many potential applications of these tests, their greatest public health impact will be their use in the detection and management of cardiovascular risk. A growing body of data supports the application of these tests for the detection of cardiovascular risk, although further work is needed to document their additive diagnostic and management impact over measured risk factors and the global risk assessment. Each of these tests has a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility, creating the potential for serial imaging as a way to monitor cardiovascular risk by the detection of atherosclerosis progression, which is a known marker for an adverse cardiovascular prognosis.