Fig. 1
From: Ageing in patients with chronic HIV infection: impact of hypercoagulation
The relationship between inflammation, thrombosis and ageing. Inflammation increases with age. This leads to an increase in hypercoagulability, which compromises blood flow to organs, and subsequently drives the ageing process and further inflammation. HIV causes enhanced coagulation as measured by d-dimer assays, enhanced inflammation as measured by IL-6 and other cytokine levels and enhanced carotid intimal thickness and cardiovascular disease