Efferocytosis And Its Oft-Unstated Role In Artery Clogging.
The human body does have a way to eliminate atherosclerotic plaques. But the conditions have to be met first.
The word “efferocytosis” isn’t one that is frequently thrown about these days. Most heart disease patients would not have heard of this word before, because rarely is it (if ever) discussed by their doctors.
Oddly, though, it is a biological process that occurs naturally within our bodies. Much like autophagy, which more people would have heard of:
Of course, before dead cells are destroyed, they have to be programmed to commit suicide first.
There’s a marked difference when we have dead skin that sloughs off as compared to flaps of dead skin that we have to cut off when we suffer an injury. Somehow, those flaps of skin still can cause pain, while skin that sloughs off is painless.
Because programmed suicide is easier to deal with than a sudden, accidental death.
