This Week in Medicine | Tracking Plaque: Lifestyle and Medical Therapy in the Evolution of Coronary Atherosclerosis

In today’s episode of This Week in Medicine, we feature a SnackableHealth™ session where Dr. Pam Taub and Dr. C. Michael Gibson delve into the dynamic relationship between lifestyle modification, medical therapy, and coronary atherosclerosis progression — a conversation that brings precision medicine to the frontline of preventive cardiology.

Dr. Taub emphasized that effective plaque management extends beyond lipid lowering. “We’re learning that the quality of the plaque — not just its size — determines clinical outcomes. Through advanced imaging, we can now track how diet, exercise, and pharmacologic therapy reshape plaque composition,” she explained.

While therapies such as statins, ezetimibe, and PCSK9 inhibitors remain central to lowering LDL-C, integrating metabolic optimization, inflammation control, and behavioral interventions can promote plaque stabilization and even regression.

Dr. Gibson added that AI-based imaging analytics are redefining precision cardiology by enabling individualized assessment of plaque response. “We’re no longer treating only numbers — we’re treating the biology of atherosclerosis,” he noted, highlighting how patient-specific monitoring may help prevent recurrent cardiovascular events.

Together, the discussion underscored a shift toward personalized plaque tracking, where clinical therapy, technology, and lifestyle data converge to enable more targeted prevention strategies — marking a new era in cardiovascular health management.