Atherogenesis

Pathophysiology

Atherogenesis is the developmental process of atheromatous plaques. It is characterized by arterial remodeling, leading to the subendothelial accumulation of fatty substances called plaques. The buildup of an atheromatous plaque is a slow process, developed over several years through a complex series of cellular events occurring within the arterial wall and in response to several local vascular circulating factors. One recent hypothesis suggests that, for unknown reasons, leukocytes, such as monocytes or basophils, begin to attack the endothelium of the artery lumen in cardiac muscle. The ensuing inflammation leads to the formation of atheromatous plaques in the arterial tunica intima, a region of the vessel wall located between the endothelium and the tunica media.