“Intermediate” CD14++CD16+ monocytes are a recently described population (Ziegler‐Heitbrock et al, 2010; Wong et al, 2011) that received initial attention for showing independent predictive value for cardiovascular event risk (Rogacev et al, 2012) that hinted at a role in vascular inflammation or atherosclerosis. This evidence concerns the gene CD14 and atherosclerosis.