Study Shows Why Cholesterol Damages Arteries
Atherosclerotic plaques always contain large amounts of immune cells in addition to crystallized cholesterol but, amazingly, no bacteria or viruses. It was previously not clear just how the body’s own defense forces are called into action. Animals are also kept in an absolutely sterile environment and can suffer from “clogging” or “furring” of the arteries when their food always contains high levels of cholesterol. The same thing is found in humans. When the blood cholesterol level is higher, there is a greater risk of atherosclerosis and the greater suffering to a heart attack. “We have known this for a long time”, pointed out by Professor Dr. Eicke Latz from Bonn University, “but nobody understood exactly why”.