[Description and mechanisms of ischemia in atherosclerosis]

The most common clinical manifestations of atherosclerotic disease are ischaemic syndromes related to an imbalance between tissue oxygen demand and supply, as a consequence of reduced blood perfusion. Atherosclerosis may cause either direct luminal arterial narrowing (stable lesion) or acute thrombus formation (unstable lesion). Atherosclerosis in the coronary artery system may manifest in the form of stable or unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, or other main clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis are: sudden cardiac death; transient ischaemic attack or cerebral infarction in the brain; and intermittent claudication or acute ischaemia of the extremities in the lower limbs.