Early atherosclerosis exhibits an enhanced procoagulant state.

Background: Thrombin generation in vivo may be important in regulating atherosclerotic progression. In the present study, we examined for the first time the activity and presence of relevant coagulation proteins in relation to the progression of atherosclerosis.

Methods And Results: Both early and stable advanced atherosclerotic lesions were collected pairwise from each individual (n=27) during autopsy.