New Insights in the risk profile for arterial thrombosisis

This thesis reports on risk factors involved in the aetiology and prognosis of the two main forms of arterial thrombosis, namely myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. The majority of risk factors under study are related to coagulation, and particularly to its pro-coagulant activity. There is also an underlying question in most of the chapters, which is whether the risk factors being investigated act differentially in myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Finally, there is a discussion about the implications and interpretation of the findings from an aetiological point of view, and for the development of future research. As an introduction to this thesis, this chapter provides background information on myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Moreover, it describes the study populations used to investigate the hypotheses along with an overview of the subsequent chapters.