Thromboxane biosynthesis in cardiovascular diseases. Sudden fissuring of an atherosclerotic plaque has been suggested as the primary trigger of transient spontaneous ischemia in both the coronary and cerebral circulation. Measurements of urinary 11-dehydro-TXB2 and 2,3-dinor-TXB2, as well as results of Aspirin trials, have suggested that episodic platelet activation at the site of this acute vascular lesion is mediated, at least partly, by enhanced thromboxane (TX) A2 biosynthesis. Thus, episodic increases in metabolite excretion have been detected in unstable angina. Aspirin (75-325 mg/day) prevents about one third of all fatal and nonfatal thrombotic events in this setting. That a similar "dynamic" thrombotic process occurs during the early phase of acute myocardial infarction is suggested by thromboxane metabolite measurements and by the results of the ISIS-2 trial showing a similar impact of short-term Aspirin therapy to that seen in unstable angina. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is associated with transiently enhanced TXA2 biosynthesis and Aspirin-suppressable periprocedural thrombotic complications. On the other hand, both non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and type IIa hypercholesterolemia are associated with a relatively reproducible and persisting abnormality of TXA2-dependent platelet function. This association is likely to reflect a systemic rather than localized stimulus to platelet activation and a continuous rather than episodic alteration. Low-dose (50 mg/day) Aspirin can largely suppress thromboxane metabolite excretion in both diseases. Thus, low-dose Aspirin and/or selective prostaglandin H2/TXA2-receptor antagonists may be important tools to test the hypothesis that TXA2-dependent platelet activation represents an important transducer of the enhanced thrombotic risk associated with these metabolic abnormalities. 