Progression of coronary artery disease. Experience with computed tomography.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) begins with asymptomatic atherosclerotic changes in the vessel wall. Gradual or abrupt progression of some of these early lesions eventually leads to symptomatic luminal narrowing. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) allows for a minimally invasive assessment of these wall changes and of the severity of luminal narrowing, and is thus an attractive method for assessing progression/regression. However, because of the associated radiation exposure and concern about false-positive findings, CTA is not recommended as a clinical screening test. Owing to the significantly lower spatial resolution compared with invasive modalities, its application as a tool for clinical progression/regression trials is limited. Therefore, while there are extensive data from both CT coronary artery calcium scoring and CTA studies demonstrating the prognostic value of luminal stenosis as well as the extent and characteristics of plaque, data describing progression/regression are limited.