Figure 2.

Left Coronary artery intima cross-section in the studied groups. Grade 1: Plaque less than half as thick as the media with some form of endothelial dysfunction. Grade 2: Plaque at least half as thick as media with accumulation of intracellular lipid, macrophages, and smooth muscle cells. Grade 3: Plaque as thick as the media with an abundance of macrophages, smooth muscle cell, and connective tissue. Grade 4: Plaque thicker than the media with a large extracellular intimal lipid core and inflammatory cell infiltration (Chekanov, 2003).