
"Early Preventive PCI Cuts Cardiac Risks from Vulnerable Plaques"
The PREVENT trial demonstrated that in patients with non–flow-limiting vulnerable plaques, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) plus optimal medical therapy reduced the risk for adverse cardiac events and death compared with optimal medical therapy alone. The study suggests a potential shift in the treatment paradigm for these types of lesions and supports consideration to expand indications for PCI to include non–flow-limiting, high-risk vulnerable plaques. Further research is needed to better identify which patients or lesions can benefit most from invasive or noninvasive imaging evaluation for detection of vulnerable plaques and the application of preventive PCI.

