FIBRINOGEN LEVELS IN WOMEN HAVING CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY

Fibrinogen has emerged as a risk factor for coronary artery disease in men that equals cholesterol in importance. It is known to play an imp ortant role in reparative processes, and evidence is accumulating that fibrinogen/fibrin accumulates at the site of minimal vascular injury. Fibrinogen contributes significantly to blood viscosity and its adher ence to endothelium may mediate progression of atheromatous lesions. T his study was designed to examine a number of markers of risk in a con secutive series of cardiology patients undergoing coronary catheteriza tions over a 15-month period. This article examines the level of fibri nogen in relation to the number of reported coronary stenoses and dise ase severity in a series of Caucasian female patients (n = 101). Women were classified as diseased if they had at least 1 lesion greater tha n or equal to 25% in the coronary anatomy and nondiseased if they had no lesions greater than or equal to 25%. The number of reported lesion s correlates significantly with fibrinogen levels (r = 0.36, p = 0.000 2). Women with fibrinogen levels greater than or equal to 283 mg/dl ha d a 3.2-fold increased risk (95% confidence interval 1.2 to 9.1) of ha ving at least 1 stenosis greater than or equal to 25% after adjusting for age and diabetic status. Smoking and body mass index did not diffe r by disease status and thus did not confound the finding. Mean fibrin ogen levels showed a progressive positive association with increasing clinically defined vessel involvement (stenosis greater than or equal to 50%).