How does atherosclerosis progress?

Big topic!: Atherothrombosis is an ongoing process of injury and healing at the molecular and cellular level in the walls of the arteries. Classic risk factors like hypertension, blood fat abnormalities, diabetes, tobacco use, compounded by inflammatory stresses, accelerate the process. Aggressive intervention to target levels of control of these risk factors can mitigate the progression, perhaps reverse?

Slowly: Atheroscleroisis is a slow degenerative and proliferative process until a plaque ruptures and ulcerates, suddenly sub-totally blocking an artery. The process is completed by a clot forming at the site of ulceration. Until that day, it's a silent, gradual buildup of cholesterol, calcium, smooth muscle cells, macrophages and debris.