Cadmium exposure as measured in blood in relation to macrophage density in symptomatic atherosclerotic plaques from human carotid artery.

•Symptomatic carotid plaques most often rupture close to the bifurcation.•Blood cadmium is associated with CD68 stained areas close to the bifurcation.•Cadmium is unrelated to CD14 stained areas as a measure of macrophage activation.•Cadmium exposure is associated with accumulation of pro-inflammatory macrophages.•These data add to current knowledge of the pro-atherogenic effect of cadmium.