Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries, the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to our organs and tissues (including heart muscle tissue). It is a type of arteriosclerosis, the term for any stiffening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis is especially dangerous because it is hidden deep in the body and not easily detectable. It is a slow, progressive disease.

Here is Vicki Behms’s artistic rendering of atherosclerosis. View the slideshow.