In atherosclerosis, the thickening of the arteries is combined with the blockage due to atherosclerotic plaques.

Atherosclerosis occurs along the entire arterial bed and the yellowish fat rich deposits are known as atherosclerotic plaques.

Hypercholesterolemia is closely linked to the risk of atherosclerosis. Most of the cholesterol in the bloodstream is carried by LDL lipoprotein.

The LDL present in atherosclerotic plaque comes mainly from LDL cholesterol.

This can penetrate the lining of the arteries and due to the resulting cell reaction and inflammation , leads to atherosclerosis with thickening of arterial wall.

Other players include white globules or monocytes.

These have an important role as they contribute to the inflammatory reaction, by capture the oxidized LDL among the arterial wall.

They are another important factor in the development of the disease.

They infiltrate the tunica intima, where they turn into macrofages and cadge LDL producing foamy cells full of fat droplets.

The monocytes do become inflammatory cells rich in fat which contributes to the further thickening of the tunica intima.

This thickening of the intima, a fatty coating is the precursor of atherosclerotic plaque.

As the disease progresses, the inflammatory substances make this coating increasingly fragile.

The smooth muscle cells can no longer repair this places.

When the fragile plaque breaks, tissue factor interacts with the components of the blood that activates coagulation and a cloth of thrombus is formed.

If the cloth is sufficiently large it can block the blood flow.

Watch the QuickTime movie
(3,9 Mo)