The clinical entity “coronary heart disease (CHD)” comprises two major
components – atherosclerosis (AS) of the coronary arteries and acute thrombosis that
occasionally occurs superimposed on an atherosclerotic artery wall, causing various types of
acute coronary syndromes (ACS) like acute myocardial infarction (AMI). As CHD is a major
cause of mortality and morbidity in the Western societies, massive research efforts have been
invested in it. It has become clear e.g. that the triggering factors for acute manifestations of
CHD are not identical to the slow-acting, classic risk factors for coronary AS. The large
impact of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and smoking on the development of CHD has
been established already some decades ago. Yet they do no explain all clinical and
epidemiological features of CHD. These major CVD risk factors have dominated the research
filed, and it has not always been easy for other potential risk factors to receive attention and
research funding.
