The earliest visible lesion of atherosclerosis is the fatty streak, which is due to an accumulation of lipid-laden foam cells in the intimal layer of the artery. With time, the fatty streak evolves into a fibrous plaque, the hallmark of established atherosclerosis. Ultimately the lesion may evolve to contain large amounts of lipid; if it becomes unstable, denudation of overlying endothelium, or plaque rupture, may result in thrombotic occlusion of the overlying artery.
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Atherosclerosis/Pages/Causes.aspx
Obesity
Being overweight or obese does not directly increase your risk of developing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but it does lead to related risk factors that do. In particular, overweight or obese people: have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure tend to have higher levels of cholesterol as a result of eating a high-fat diet have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Read more about obesity.
Smoking
Smoking can damage the walls of your arteries. If your arteries are damaged by smoking then blood cells, known as platelets, will clump together at the site of the damage to try to repair it. This can cause your arteries to narrow.
Smoking also decreases the blood's ability to carry oxygen around your body, which increases the chances of a blood clot occurring.
Read more about the health risks associated with smoking.
High blood pressure
If you have high blood pressure (hypertension) it will damage your arteries in the same way as cigarette smoke. Your arteries are designed to pump blood at a certain pressure. If that pressure is exceeded, the walls of the arteries will be damaged. High blood pressure can be caused by: being overweight drinking excessive amounts of alcohol stress smoking a lack of exercise
Read more about high blood pressure.
Diabetes
If you have poorly controlled type 1 or type 2