[Value of intravascular ultrasound and angioscopy for diagnosis and prediction of acute coronary syndrome].

The new catheter-based imaging modalities of intravascular ultrasound(IVUS) and angioscopy(AS) can provide with morphologic information within a vessel wall or on an intimal surface of coronary artery, which cannot be clarified by conventional angiography. They could demonstrate some evidences of coronary plaque rupture after the onset of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). IVUS showed an intimal flap and an echolucent area behind it, which might represent a fibrous cap and a lipid core, respectively. Also, AS revealed an intimal tear in various grades. IVUS and AS may contribute to detect a "vulnerable coronary plaque." Both findings of an eccentric fibrofatty plaque, sometimes with an echolucent area, demonstrated by IVUS and a yellow plaque revealed by AS may be valuable for prediction of the plaque rupture preceding ACS.