Pathological Mechanism of Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial, smoldering, focal (intima of bifurcated blood arteries), chronic, progressive asymptotically, immune-inflammatory, disorder driven by lipid imbalance, in the large to medium sized (upto3mm external diameter) arteries with many cardiovascular clinical manifestations. Atherosclerosis developmentinvolves many cells, organs and even disturbed blood flow. The progression of atherosclerotic disease depends on the presence, degree, and persistence of risk factors like high-fat diet, smoking, hypertension, history of heart diseases, or diabetes. Endothelial dysfunction, ROS, accumulation of LDL, recruitment of Monocytes and T cells, differentiation of monocytes into macrophages and foam cells, formation of plaque and rupturing of plaque are key steps behind the clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis in cardiovascular diseases. This article describes the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, possibility of therapeutically targeting mechanism and interventions which can be helpful to reverse or slower the atherosclerosis.