What is the number one cause of arterial disease?

• A. Atherosclerosis
• B. Venous insufficiency
• C. Aneurysm
• D. Dissection

Answer: (A)

Arterial disease is driven by atherosclerosis, the buildup of lipid-rich plaques in the walls of arteries that narrows vessels and promotes blockages or clot formation. This process underlies most major artery diseases, from coronary and carotid to peripheral arteries, making atherosclerosis the leading cause. Risk factors like high LDL cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and aging promote endothelial injury and inflammatory plaque development, which over time can progress to obstructed blood flow or acute events.

Venous insufficiency involves veins, not arteries, so it isn’t the root cause of arterial disease. An aneurysm is a focal dilation of an artery—important and clinically significant, but it’s a specific vascular pathology that can be related to atherosclerosis rather than the universal cause of arterial disease. Dissection is a tear in the arterial wall that creates a false channel; it’s a distinct mechanism and not the common underlying cause of arterial disease overall.