Hemobiology, vascular disease, and diabetes with special reference to impaired fibrinolysis.

This brief review is intended to emphasize the multiple interactions between diabetes and the pathophysiological processes that lead to ischemic cardiovascular events. The main pathogenetic pathways of atherothrombosis and their relationship with diabetes are largely and frequently analyzed. In this review, we will focus on a particular aspect of this pathological process, namely, the impairment in fibrinolysis, the importance of which has been recently recognized in cardiovascular disease. Fibrinolysis is frequently impaired in diabetic patients.