31.   Yet it is not clear that any of these infections directly irritate the artery walls.

32.   A balloon-like tip inflates to squeeze the plaque against the artery wall, allowing the blood to flow properly.

33.   A stent is a scaffold-like device that doctors thread up into an artery to prop open artery walls.

34.   An artery wall split, requiring immediate surgery to restart her stopped heart.

35.   Doctors have long known that heart attacks and strokes typically occur when a lump of plaque on an artery walls bursts.

36.   During angioplasty, a balloon is pushed into the area of the blockage and inflated, widening the pathway for blood flow by flattening plaque against the artery wall.

37.   For instance, it may stabilize the fatty buildups on artery walls that can burst and trigger a heart attack.

38.   In balloon angioplasty, a tiny balloon is inflated inside a blood vessel to compress fatty buildup on the artery walls.

39.   In theory, the artery walls should not be harmed because they are white, not red, and so will not absorb the laser energy.

40.   Scientists believe fish oil may help the heart by lessening the inflammation involved in hardening of the artery walls.