The period reframed vascular disease as a systemic, thrombo-inflammatory process rather than a purely lipid-driven condition, linking emboli from eroded aortic plaques to distal occlusions and elevating the significance of thrombosis in lesion progression and clinical risk assessment. The shift foregrounded widespread atherosclerosis with a coronarypredilection and recognized medial calcification as a distinct aging-associated vascular pathology.