Hemostatic Abnormalities and Arterial Thrombosis

Hereditary and acquired hemostatic risk factors are associated with the occurrence of venous thrombosis. Hemostasis also plays an important role in arterial thrombosis because a prothrombotic state, through enhanced platelet activation, thrombin generation, or decreased fibrinolysis, increases the risk of arterial events. Interestingly, several observational studies have suggested that patients with an arterial cardiovascular event also have an increased risk of developing venous thrombosis,[1] [2] which may challenge the concept that arterial and venous thrombosis are separate entities. In addition, common cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia and diabetes, also seem associated with the occurrence of venous thrombosis.[3] This implies that treatment usually given to reduce the risk of arterial cardiovascular events may also be effective in primary or secondary prevention of venous thrombosis. Indeed, several case-control and cohort studies have suggested that statin treatment reduces the occurrence of venous thrombosis.[4] [5] [6] In addition, in the recent randomized placebo-controlled Jupiter trial, rosuvastatin lowered the risk of both cardiovascular and venous thrombotic disease in healthy subjects.[7]