Over the past 50 years, considerable progress has been made in understanding factors that stimulate the development of atherosclerosis and other manifestations of "preclinical cardiovascular disease," and in documenting the 2- to 4-fold higher risk of subsequent myocardial infarction or other morbid events in asymptomatic individuals with such pathological transformations in arteries or the heart. However, much less information is available about the factors ("triggers") that precipitate morbid and mortal events in high-risk individuals. Recent work by Paul Ridker and colleagues and other groups has identified associations between the presence of markers of prothrombotic tendencies, inflammation and immune activation and myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. However, most available data have been obtained in men and less is known about the relevance of these newer risk factors and potential "triggers" to stimulation of atherosclerosis and precipitation of CVD events in women. In this context, research to examine the relation of both relatively new and potentially novel "triggers" to subsequent myocardial infarction in women is of considerable potential clinical and biological significance.