Tiny, dense cholesterol particles stick around longer in the blood and slip more easily into artery walls, where they get damaged and trigger inflammation that leads to clogged arteries.

Chronic exposure to elevated LDL particles is causally associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through endothelial infiltration and initiation of arterial inflammation.

When your body doesn’t respond well to insulin (like in prediabetes), it makes more of the bad, tiny, sticky cholesterol particles that clog arteries.

When cholesterol particles get damaged by free radicals, they turn into a toxic form that sticks to artery walls, tricks immune cells into eating them until they burst, and causes swelling and inflammation that worsens plaque.

When you have too much 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) in your blood, it sticks to the walls of your arteries and builds up like gunk, making them narrow and stiff — which raises your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

Keeping your 'bad' cholesterol low for a long time helps slow down the buildup of gunk in your arteries and lowers your chances of having heart attacks or strokes later in life.