Normal blood flow may stabilize plaque, lower odds of cardiac events

Plaque afflicts more than just teeth. A cholesterol-infused version of the stuff can also coat the inner lining of arteries, sometimes hardening and narrowing those canals to the point that oxygen-ferrying blood slows and struggles to reach the heart. Yet the rupturing of those fatty plaques can prove even more dangerous, causing blood clots that block arteries, yielding heart attacks and strokes.