RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROTHROMBIN ACTIVATION FRAGMENT F1-CHOLESTEROL(2AND SERUM)

Plasma levels of fibrinogen, factor VIIc and prothrombin fragment F1+2 , a marker of thrombin generation in vivo, were studied in 68 subjects with serum total cholesterol (TC) levels between 135 and 349 mg/dl bu t without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease and other athero sclerotic risk factors. F1+2 plasma levels were directly correlated wi th TC (p < 0.0004), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; p < 0. 0018) and factor VIIc (p < 0.024). Thirty-five subjects with TC greate r than 249 mg/dl (median value of the whole group) showed higher level s of F1+2 (p < 0.0001) and fibrinogen (p < 0.0015) than those with TC lower than 249 mg/dl. In subjects with TC > 249 mg/dl and F1+2 > 1.2 n M (median value of the whole group), a cholesterol-lowering drug (simv astatin) was able to reduce F1+2 (p < 0.009) as well as TC and LDL-C. This study shows a relationship between serum cholesterol and the rate of thrombin generation supporting the hypothesis that a hypercoagulab le stale may occur in hypercholesterolemic subjects before the onset o f clinical evidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.