It is the major cause of heart attack, some strokes, aneurysms, and peripheral artery disease.

Our arteries are much more than simple tubes. They build a well organized tubing system that supply the organs and tissues of the body with the blood they need to extract sufficient amounts of nutrients and oxygen. 

Arteries also regulate blood flow and pressure through a complicated system of hormones and flow-sensitive receptors, work as a first alarm system for local infections and injury as well as regulating the subsequent repair process.

In the best of all worlds the artery would manage these challenges quite well keeping its wall slim and elastic. However, with the
conditions facing the artery wall in most of us today with a continuous exposure to high levels of potentially toxic lipids and other factors fulfilling these tasks may come with a high price, the development of inflammation, scaring and disruption of the inner layer of the artery. This disease is called atherosclerosis and makes the artery wall thickened, stiff and fragile.

Atherosclerosis Redefined