Macrophages and Neovascularization in In-Stent Neoatherosclerosis: An Accelerated Inflammatory Phenotype by OCT with Therapeutic Implications

In this edition of Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, Pinheiro et al. show optical coherence tomography (OCT) data with clear differences in inflammation and neovascularization among de novo atherosclerosis, in-stent restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia, and in-stent neoatherosclerosis.

Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation may have recurrent symptoms of coronary heart disease due to in-stent restenosis due to vascular injury that triggers an intimal proliferative response, minimized by current techniques and stents of new generation. However, the neointimal lesion secondary to a delay in neoendothelialization can lead to symptom recurrence, usually during the first year of coronary intervention.

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