Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in the L industrialized world, responsible for ending one out of every two lives. The survivors of acute atherosclerotic events and those with long-term atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease often are forced to limit their physical activity and their aspirations. We, as surgeons, and most of us as physicians, have generally been concerned only with the end-stages of atherosclerosis, and then only with the management of the complications of this disease. The etiology of the disease, the treatment of the process of atheromata accumulation, and the modification of risk factors have been peripheral concerns, at best, of the medical profession. It is for the purpose of increasing awareness and capsulizing knowledge of one aspect of the basic atherosclerosis disease process, namely, its relationship to circulating lipids, that this symposium is presented.
It is proper to dedicate this symposium on arterial disease to a cardiovascular surgeon