What is the difference between dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis?

• A. Dyslipidemia is abnormal lipid levels in the blood; atherosclerosis is buildup of plaques in arterial walls driven by dyslipidemia.
• B. Dyslipidemia is plaque buildup; atherosclerosis is abnormal lipid levels in the blood.
• C. Dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis are the same condition.
• D. Dyslipidemia refers to blood pressure abnormalities; atherosclerosis to cholesterol.

Answer: (A)

Dyslipidemia describes abnormal lipid levels in the blood, such as high LDL cholesterol or triglycerides or low HDL cholesterol. Atherosclerosis is the disease of the arteries in which plaques—made up of lipids, inflammatory cells, calcium, and fibrous tissue—build up in the arterial walls, narrowing the lumen and potentially rupturing to cause events like heart attack or stroke. Dyslipidemia is a systemic lipid abnormality that promotes the development of atherosclerotic plaques, but they are not the same thing: one is a blood lipid disorder, the other is a localized arterial disease process driven in large part by that lipid imbalance.