Platelet Activity in Vascular Surgery and Cardiovascular Events

Pathological and clinical studies have consistently demonstrated that abnormalities in thrombosis and hemostasis play a major role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis. Screening for abnormalities in thrombosis and hemostasis by measuring platelet activity, thrombin generation, and markers of coagulation have been proposed to identify individuals at high-risk for cardiovascular events, however, it remains a research tool not ready for implementation in standard care. The proposed study will add to the growing understanding of platelet activity and markers of coagulation in cardiovascular disease; examine a comprehensive battery of platelet activity markers, thrombin generation, markers of coagulation, and inflammatory biomarkers in subjects undergoing vascular surgery; and will provide important data on the mechanism of increased platelet activity using micro RNA, RNA and DNA expression profiling. The study design is prospective and the main outcome measure is platelet activity measurements associated with short-term cardiovascular events in PAD patients