Successful strategies are needed to prevent atherosclerotic plaque development and vessel occlusion and their consequences in terms of cardiac events.“Traditional” risk stratification has used various algorithms based on assessment of standard risk factors and the characteristics and extent of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in order to match the intensity of intervention to the level of risk at an acceptable cost. Recent studies have focused on the importance of novel prognostic factors and cardiac markers to predict the risk of future events, including inflammation (C-reactive protein), thrombosis (fibrinogen), direct assessment of the extent of disease (cardiac imaging techniques), predictors of the vulnerable plaque (serum troponin T), as well as cultural, social, and behavioral predictors of outcome such as depression and poor social support...