[Oxidative stress, atherogenesis and cardiovascular risk factors]

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality in the western world. It is widely accepted that atherosclerosis, the first etiology, is influenced by free radicals and the oxidizing stress that they cause. In the oxidative theory of atherosclerosis, the atheromatous lesion is initiated by oxidation of two density lipoproteins (LDL), a process still known as lipid peroxidation. Oxidized LDL have many effects on the cells of the vessel wall which, provide an explanation to most of the cellular and tissular changes observed in the plaque. The vascular complications of hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes, hyperhomocysteinemia, hypertension and smoking may, in part, be secondary to oxidizing stress that impairs endothelial function and modify the lipids in the intima of the vessels. The aim of this paper is to review the modes of free radical production, to determine the role of oxidizing stress in the development of atherosclerosis and to show how the different risk factors may initiate atheroma through oxidizing stress.