In 1987, the national health bill was 85 billion dollars. This laboratory exercise will examine how the coronary arteries and other blood vessels become blocked and the role of cholesterol. The heart is a muscle which pumps blood to the body's tissues via blood vessels called arteries. Blood delivers nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and carries metabolic waste products away from the tissues.
Healthy arteries are usually elastic and have clear, smooth internal surfaces.
However, under certain conditions the arteries, including the coronary arteries, become thickened and stiff and the internal surface becomes lined with fatty deposits. These deposits called plaque start as early as childhood and become thicker as an individual ages. To understand the process which causes the arteries to become blocked by developing plaque, it is essential to know about cholesterol and how it travels in the bloodstream. Cholesterol is a normal part of all body tissue, and is essential for life. Cholesterol travels to body tissues in the bloodstream in tiny droplets, surrounded with a protein shell or coat.