Shortened Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT): A Simple but Important Marker of Hypercoagulable State During Acute Coronary Event

Haemostatic system has several important functions: to keep blood in a fluid state, to arrest bleeding at the site of vascular injury by formation of a haemostatic plug and to destroy the plug slowly when healing takes place. Normal physiology constitutes a delicate balance between procoagulant and anticoagulant properties of this system, and a deficiency or exaggeration of any one may lead to either haemorrhage or vascular thrombosis respectively. Haemostatic factors have an important role in prothrombotic state and in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Vascular, platelet and coagulation factors contribute to the development of coronary artery disease.