One of the foremost leaders of mortality in the US is coronary artery disease (CAD). Atherosclerosis is an abnormal thickening and hardening of the arterial walls caused by fat and fibrin deposits. It is a form of arteriosclerosis, which is the actual thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of arterial walls. It affects primarily the coronary arteries (arteries that carry blood to the heart, arranged in a crown-like shape around the heart), the aorta, the arteries of the lower extremities, and the arteries that provide blood to the brain. It is a disease that can affect a person at any age, although it usually does not pose a threat until people reach their forties or fifties. This disease strikes many older men and women, as a result from the infamous factors of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes mellitus, not to mention others. Thanks to research over the last decade, there is more understanding of the role endothelium plays in the coronary system.......
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