Atherosclerosis, particularly as the underlying cause of ischaemic heart disease, represents the severest health problem in many countries. Due to a variety of determinants – including globalization, urbanization and fall in infant mortality rates and locally, economic and lifestyle changes – atherosclerosis will similarly impact among large populations in other countries. These factors are also fuelling the global epidemic of diabetes. It has been predicted that by 2020, cardiovascular diseases will be the cause of death in 6 million annually among populations in higher income countries and in 19 million annually among those in middle and low income countries.