AUTHOR=Onnis Carlotta , Cadeddu Dessalvi Christian , Cademartiri Filippo , Muscogiuri Giuseppe , Angius Simone , Contini Francesca , Suri Jasjit S. , Sironi Sandro , Salgado Rodrigo , Esposito Antonio , Saba Luca TITLE=Quantitative and qualitative features of carotid and coronary atherosclerotic plaque among men and women JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.970438 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.970438 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), particularly ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, present epidemiologically in a different way among sexes. The reasons of these sex-based differences should be delved into sex-specific cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and different mechanisms of atherosclerotic progression. Imaging techniques of both carotid and coronary atherosclerotic plaques represent a tool to demonstrate sex-related features which might be used to further and better assess CV risk of male and female population. The aim of this review is to evaluate current knowledge on sex-specific qualitative and quantitative plaque features of coronary and carotid atherosclerosis. We also discuss the clinical implication of a sex-based plaque phenotype, evaluated with non-invasive imaging techniques, such as CT-angiography and MRI-angiography, to stratify CV risk.