Recent experimental data suggest marked similarities between the effects of hypertension
and hypercholesterolemia on the arterial intima. Both conditions also seem to exert
proinflammatory effects on the artery, resulting in the recruitment of monocytes into the
intima. These effects may be due to production of oxygen-free radicals, which in turn may
stimulate genes involved in the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the arterial wall. Plaque
rupture and acute myocardial infarction are related to local accumulation of inflammatory …