Atherosclerosis is a condition which is gradually worsened in which cholesterol enters an artery and is deposited as a mass in the vessel wall. This increasing depositing provokes an inflammatory reaction (to which free radicals contribute) and causes scar formation and calcium depositing.
In time, a kind of cholesterol abscess is formed that may burst and thereby cause a wound in the vessel wall to develop. The uneven surface that follows from this substantially increases the risk of a blood clot, so from having been a static condition, the atherosclerosis now becomes a life-threatening disease.
A light case of atherosclerosis does not necessarily cause complications or noticable symptoms other than the elevated cholesterol level accompanying the condition. Angina pectoris, however, is one of the symptoms typically arising in case of a more severe case of atherosclerosis in which the coronary arteries are gradually closed so that the heart does not get enough blood and oxygen.
The cause of the atherosclerosis is lipoprotein A plus an oxidation of the LDL cholesterol which produces the tissue damaging free radicals and starts a process which transforms the oxidized cholesterol into a sticky mass which is deposited on the vessel wall and in time totally or partially closes the passage of blood. A large or small fragment of this depositing can break away and float with the blood stream until it gets stuck (as a blood clot) in a vessel in the leg, heart, or brain.
Most people have some degree of atherosclerosis. There are vague boundaries to the condition which develops through your whole life. Recent research has shown that atherosclerosis already begins in the teenage years and therefore, it should be prevented relatively early.
