Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology is one of the specialist areas in cardiovascular medicine about the mechanisms concerning blood vessel health and disease. This encompasses arteriosclerosis as the thickening of the walls within the arterial tree that makes it stiff so that blood cannot easily move across the walls of blood vessels to reach tissues in them. It usually happens from the effect of plaque, cholesterol, and fat that calcify over time and obstruct arterial walls as a process named atherosclerosis. It grows or ruptures the plaque to block the flow of blood or create clots. Serious cardiovascular events could happen as a result of that.

Thrombosis is the key concern of arteriosclerosis since it is the blood clot formation within blood vessels. These layers of blood vessels would instantly form clots with exposed ruptured plaque. The thrombi may completely occlude the blood flow or embolize other parts of the body, causing further complications such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) or ischemic stroke. This is critical in the management of a patient with cardiovascular risk factors because even small clots can cause significant tissue damage.

Vascular biology concerns the cells and molecules involved in the functioning of blood vessels, and the course of the disease. The endothelial cells line the blood vessels and regulate blood flow, inflammation, and clotting. Endothelial dysfunction is the earliest sign of disease in arteriosclerosis since it leads to inflammation and increases the likelihood of the vessel becoming plugged. Vascular biology studies also consider the investigation of smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle cells are responsible for adding to vessel structure and flexibility, but they can proliferate in diseased arteries to exacerbate arteriosclerosis.