The recent progress of traditional Chinese medicine for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis

Background Atherosclerosis is considered as the major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Meanwhile, it may generate numerous clinical events such as acute coronary syndrome, stroke and others. The traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has been widely used for the therapy of patients with cardiovascular diseases for thousands of years. Of note, although the pharmacological properties of anti-atherosclerosis have not yet been elucidated completely, we achieved significant curative effects. In this review, we attempt to explore the effects on TCM on atherosclerosis from the cellular and molecular level.