It's a yellow, swollen area in the middle muscular layer and the lining
of your artery, which is formed when lipid (fat or fat-like material and
other nasty stuff listed below) is built up in the area, eventually
causing thickening of your artery walls, narrowing of your arteries and
stopping the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart muscle, brain, toes
and feet. Technically this plaque is a mixture of fibrin, collagen,
phospholipids, triglycerides,
oxidized cholesterol, nucopolysaccharides, foreign
proteins, heavy metals, muscle tissue, and debris all bonded together
with calcium that accumulates until it completely closes the artery.
Contrary to popular belief, cholesterol is only one component of
arterial plaque.