ABSTRACT
Atherosclerosis has a predilection for the critical arterial beds: coronary, cerebral, renal, and aortoiliac. Its complications are the major cause of death in North America as well as in other economically developed societies.[1] Coronary heart disease (CHD) and cerebrovascular disease join cancer as the three leading causes of death in the United States.[2,3] The development of atherosclerotic lesions follows a variable course dependent on multiple influences. In the past decade much has been learned about these factors through study of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical progression, and therapy of the disease in humans.
