Disruption and thrombosis of atherosclerotic plaques cause most acute cardiovascular
events, but their systematic study has been hampered by the lack of suitable animal models.
To assess the value of a modified rabbit model of atherothrombosis, we performed detailed
histology of rabbit aortic plaques. Atherosclerosis was induced with a high cholesterol diet
fed 2 weeks prior to and 6 weeks after balloon injury of the aorta, followed by 4 weeks of
normal diet. We found six out of eight types of plaques cataloged by the American Heart …