Dietary fats and arterial thrombosis: effects and mechanism of action.

Dietary fats have a pronounced effect on arterial thrombosis: in rats, long-chain saturated fatty acids are thrombogenic, oleic acid is neutral, and linoleic acid is anti-thrombotic. These effects are likely to be mediated, at least in part, by changes in platelet fatty acid composition and--consequently--platelet function. Blood coagulability and differences in vitamin E intake seem of no (or minor) importance. In man, dietary linoleic acid inhibits platelet aggregation and other parameters of platelet activation. Dietary fat effects on vascular prostacyclin formation have not yet been found.