Opportunities in Biobanking

Atherosclerotic tissue banks with a longitudinal study design: Local plaque proteins are a source for biomarkers with strong predictive value for future cardiovascular events.

The quest for novel biomarkers: Correlate cardiovascular outcome with the expression of activation markers and responsiveness of the circulating cells from patients with coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Genome Wide Association (GWA) studies Variations in single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP’s) are compared between patients with or without cardiovascular manifestations and will reveal novel causal pathways and identify potential new therapeutic targets.

Novel imaging techniques Progression has been made in detecting the so called vulnerable plaque. Some techniques already are at the precipice of translation to clinical practice.