ABSTRACT
D3.2.6.1 Atheroma and angioplasty-like injury Atheromatous occlusive disease is the major cause of mortality and morbidity in the western world. It was responsible for just under 1 million deaths (39% of all deaths) in the United States in 2000 and just over 210 000 deaths in the UK in 2001 (40% of all deaths). The disease is diffusely distributed throughout the arterial tree. The arterial lumen is narrowed or occluded by an intimal plaque made up of foamy macrophages (a type of inflammatory cell filled with fat), free cholesterol and fibrous tissue. Focal accumulations of these plaques lead to a discrete narrowing or an occlusion in arteries such as the coronary and the carotid and give rise to manifestations such as angina, while acute ruptures of these plaques along with thrombosis (clotting within the artery) lead to myocardial infarcts (death of muscle tissue in the heart) and strokes. The narrowed arteries are amenable to surgical bypass grafting or procedures such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA, a technique for opening up the block in an artery by sliding a device along the arterial tree to the site of the block from a convenient access point).
