Leading risk factors for coronary thrombosis are high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and hypertension.

Atherosclerosis contributes to coronary thrombosis formation by facilitating blood stasis as well as causing local endothelial injury.

[citation needed] Due to the large number of cases of myocardial infarction leading to death and disease in the world, there has been extensive study towards the generation of clots specifically in the coronary arteries.

Statin drugs, in addition to their primary cholesterol-lowering mechanisms of action, have been studied to target a number of pathways that may decrease coronary inflammation and subsequent thrombosis.

[citation needed] A thrombus is a type of embolism, a more general term for any material that partially or fully blocks a blood vessel.

Atherosclerosis is the progressive thickening of blood vessels and plaque formation that eventually can lead to coronary artery disease.