Atherosclerotic plaque formation starts with a thickening of the vessel wall caused by the build up of fatty materials such as cholesterol. The plaque stiffens over time, making the vessel more rigid. This process can lead to cloth formation causing heart attack or stroke. In some cases the rigid vessel can rupture causing internal bleeding. The formation of the calcium build up can be detect using HRCT images and the subsequent effect on blood flow and wall shear stress can be determined using computational fluid dynamics calculations.
Visualisation of atherosclerotic plaque formation in the aorta and arteria femoralis