Coronary heart disease (CHD) and other thrombosis related disorders are a major source of morbidity and mortality in the United States and the world. To a certain extent they are diseases of the elderly, with the majority of overt CHD occurring in persons over the age of 65. Recently, fibrinogen and factor VII have been implicated as independent CHD risk factors in middle age populations, although causative roles have not been established. These studies increased understanding of the relationship of thrombosis to cardiovascular risk.