Muscle damage from atherosclerosis can also happen in the chest, abdomen, legs, and feet, a disorder known as periph¬eral artery disease.

If the blood supply to the legs or feet is restricted, the result is muscle tiredness, and pain upon exer¬tion. When the blood supply to the legs and feet is com¬pletely blocked, tissue dies and gangrene results.

In the chest and abdominal areas, atherosclerosis can cause the aorta— the main artery—to balloon and rupture, producing life-threatening internal bleeding.

In 1987, slightly more than 23,000 people died from peripheral artery disease, making it the tenth leading cause of death.

But since peripheral artery disease is not usually a direct cause of death—it more often leads to other disorders such as aneurysms that can be fatal—health officials believe it is a larger health problem than the death toll suggests.