Vasospasm, vascular injury, and atherogenesis: A perspective

It is generally believed that injury of the vessel wall is an important condition for the development of atherosclerosis. The nature of this: injury and its relationship to lesion origin, however, are not clearly understood. Based on early work by the author and a selective review of the literature, evidence is presented to show how a common cardiovascular event, vasospasm, may be one of the factors responsible for this tissue damage, because it produces a substantial arteriopathy in the very vessel in which it occurs. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.