Inflammation—A Link Between Arterial Atherosclerotic and Venous Thromboembolic Diseases

An increasing body of evidence suggests the likelihood of a link between arterial atherosclerotic disease (AAD) and venous thromboembolic disease (VTED). Inflammation is accepted as a basic pathogenetic mechanism of both diseases. The involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of AAD and VTED is supported by increased levels of circulating inflammatory markers, particularly interleukins, which are involved in the development and progression of atherosclerosis as well as in thrombus formation in arterial and venous beds. A consideration supporting a close link between these diseases is also based on the evidence of common risk factors which promote the development of both diseases through stimulation of systemic inflammation. Further, the relationship between arterial and VTED is supported by findings of the simultaneous appearance of clinical or preclinical AAD and VTED. The aim of this narrative review is to report evidence of the inflammatory basis of arterial and venous diseases, which is important for common therapeutic procedures. Besides classical drugs used in the prevention of arterial and venous diseases with their pleotropic anti-inflammatory activity, new anti-inflammatory drugs provide the possibility for treatment of both AAD and VTED and could represent a unified therapeutic approach to both diseases.