Such injuries and short-lived inflammations occur all the time inside our bodies. In the arteries this inflammation occurs at sites of vessel branches and is more likely in smokers and those with high blood pressure. Again, these injuries and the resultant inflammation probably heal quickly under normal circumstances. However, many examples are known where post-injury inflammation does not stop and becomes what we call chronic inflammation. Some chronic inflammatory diseases are well known and include rheumatoid arthritis and some chronic lung diseases.
Atherosclerosis is known to cause heart attacks and strokes.
It is believed that chronic inflammation occurs because the body is unable to turn off the inflammation that accompanies healing. The 'turning off' process requires that special cells, called macrophages, are attracted to the injury site and subsequently remove all the damaged tissues, which otherwise cause more damage and more inflammation. It is therefore possible that in chronic inflammation, the main fault could be a failure of 'debris-clearance'. It has been known for years that atherosclerosis can only develop because of cholesterol. Dr Khan's research has shown that certain types of circulating fats, particularly oxidised cholesterol, can affect the macrophages so that they are no longer able to remove the debris of damaged arteries.