vasodilator capacity. 22 In addition to producing vasodilatation, nitric oxide can impair platelet aggregation. Nitric oxide also has a direct anti-inflammatory effect, augmenting production of the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B), a transcription factor involved in the expression of the genes encoding many proinflammatory functions of vascular wall cells and infiltrating leukocytes. 23–25 These various findings all highlight the central role of inflammation as a determinant of the biology underlying the acute thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis.