In the Injury Theory, it's damage to the arterial endothelium, followed by platelet activation, then smooth muscle cell migration to injury, then macrophages, with resulting "foam cells." Engorged foam cells burst, starting the injury cycle all over again
Results from the first U.S. clinical trial investigating the benefit of using a patient's own (autologous) selected adult stem cells, called CD34+ cells, to treat coronary artery disease are promising.