Hyperlipidemia and in vivo hemostatic system activation.

: Coagulation system activity in vivo is a well-recognized consequence of advanced atherosclerotic disease, the association of coagulation system activity with atherogenesis is much less clear. The data reviewed here argue against ongoing increased coagulation system activity in persons with hyperlipidemia. The possibility remains that episodic activity could easily be missed with available tests, such bursts of activity might well require new agents and strategies for effective control. Failure to find evidence of increased coagulation activity in patients with hyperlipidemia does not refute models of atherogenesis based on thrombosis. Rather, the data reviewed here should cause us to focus attention on the time scale of such events. On the other hand, the findings do allow for a simpler interpretation of data showing evidence of activation of coagulation in patients with concurrent hyperlipidemia.