Therapies leading to coronary atherosclerosis plaque regression: a scientific statement of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the ESC, the ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and
The present is the second part of a scientific statement supported by the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the ESC, the ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, and the ESC Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy regarding evidence on atherosclerosis regression. This second part is focused on evidence exploring the effect of different therapies, from lipid-lowering to anti-inflammatory drugs, on atherosclerosis progression. Although statins-particularly at higher doses-have the most extensive data supporting their effect on atherosclerosis, mainly resulting in fibro-lipidic plaque volume regression, emerging data suggest that non-statin lipid-lowering drugs and anti-inflammatory therapies may also affect the natural history of atherosclerosis. However, it should be noted that the absolute change in coronary plaque volume is generally limited, underscoring the need for further research on pharmacological intervention targeting atherosclerosis for early identification and treatment of patients at higher risk.
Authors
- Márcio Sommer Bittencourt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3711-1754)
- Borja Ibáñez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5036-254X)
- Yoshinobu Onuma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7702-0649)
- Erwan Donal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2677-3389)
- Elena Osto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-5696)
- Isabel Gonçalves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2935-0181)
- Edoardo Conte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1443-5788)
- Bernard Cosyns (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9419-8019)
- Marc R. Dweck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9847-5917)
- Francesco Perone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1418-7908)
- Juan Carlos Kaski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8068-0189)
- Patrick Washington Serruys
- Daniele Andreini
- Pal Maurovich-Horvat
Institutions
- Semmelweis University (HU)
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)
- Inserm (FR)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Malmö University (SE)
- University of Milan (IT)
- Medical University of Graz (AT)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Université Rennes 2 (FR)
- Lung Institute (US)
- Istituto Clinico Sant'Ambrogio (IT)
- St George's Hospital (GB)
- CIC Rennes (FR)
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (BE)
- Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz (ES)
- Villa Melitta (IT)
- Magnolia Solar (United States) (US)
- COPE Galway (IE)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes (FR)
- Université de Rennes (FR)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
- Published
- 2025-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf654
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.01