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The plaque that is formed in the tunica intima is made up of oxidised LDL cholesterol,macrophages,smooth muscle cells and fibrinogen.This is called a stable plaque.
Stable Plaque
When the plaque suddenly ruptures,platelets are deposited at the ruptured site.A blood clot is formed inside the ruptured plaque to seal off the rupture.This is called an unstable plaque.
Unstable Plaque
However if the blood clot gets dislodged from the plaque,it will be carried in the coronary artery and will occlude the artery completely.
This is called Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) and is a medical emergency.
Sometimes a portion of the ruptured plaque gets carried away in the coronary artery.This too can block the lumen completely leading to myocardial infarction,but with grave consequences!
The symptoms of myocardial infarction lasts for more than 15 minutes
