Signal Evolution of Intraplaque Hemorrhage in Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Carotid Plaque: A Long-Term in Vivo High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging Follow-Up Study

Jianming Cai¹, Qingjun Wang¹, Yong Wang¹, Youquan Cai¹, Lin Ma¹, Chun Yuan²

By using in vivo multi-contrast high-resolution MRI, we performed a long-term follow-up study on asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) to observe difference in signal evolution within each group and between the two groups. In the present study, each patient with eligible IPH was given a carotid MRI examination on a 3.0-T MRI scanner every 6 months during a total 3 years period. Our findings show that asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid IPH demonstrated a different MRI signal evolution. The repeated IPH may be more common in the symptomatic plaque than in the asymptomatic plaque.