FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 338:1538-1541 May 21, 1998 Number 21 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text Purchase this article Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited

Coronary atherosclerosis develops over decades and then may suddenly lead to an acute coronary event. Often this occurs in an artery with a minor stenosis. The culprit lesion usually has a large lipid core containing tissue factor, and it is covered by a thin fibrous cap with a thinned collagen matrix infiltrated by macrophages. The acute event is due usually to disruption of plaque and less often to erosion.

The risk factors leading to atherosclerosis also contribute to plaque disruption and the formation of thrombus. Flowing blood contacts tissue substrates deep in the arterial wall — a process that initiates . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org Comments and questions? Please contact us. The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.