IL6 and atherosclerosis: For instance, atherosclerosis has been linked to inflammation and coagulation, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and D-dimer correlating positively with a greater risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (2), as well as to CD8+ T cell activation (HLA-DR and CD38 coexpression) (3) and monocyte (soluble CD163 level and cell surface coexpression of CD14 and CD16) activation (3, 4).