His research led to the description of cholesterol plaques in retinal blood vessels which indicate atherosclerosis and increased risk of stroke.

The cholesterol plaque causes the muscle cells to enlarge and form a hard cover over the affected area.

Uric acid crystals and cholesterol plaques, if present, are not visible in the blood samples.

But patients should realize that these procedures do nothing to treat dangerous cholesterol plaques elsewhere in the heart's blood vessels.

The growth of cholesterol plaques slowly blocks blood flow in the arteries.

Worse, a cholesterol plaque can suddenly rupture.

Coronary artery disease: Over the years, cholesterol plaques can narrow the arteries supplying blood to the heart.

In cardiovascular disease, cholesterol plaques gradually block the arteries in the heart and brain.

The blockage that kills is made up of platelets streaming to the site of a ruptured cholesterol plaque.

That inhibition, he said, leads to the accumulation of cholesterol plaques.