PASSAGE OF THE MENOPAUSE IS FOLLOWED BY HEMOSTATIC CHANGES

The passage of the menopause has been reported to be followed by a ste adily increasing risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Changes in the concentrations of certain coagulation factors and fibrinolytic compone nts are considered risk factors for CVD. We evaluated the differences in some of these variables between a premenopausal group (A) (n = 28) and two postmenopausal groups, one of women less than 18 months past t he menopause (B) (n = 28), the other of women more than 18 months past the menopause (C) (n = 21). The variables measured were serum oestrad iol content, plasma antithrombin III (AT III) activity, protein C acti vity and the plasma concentrations of tissue type plasminogen activato r (t-PA) antigen, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) antigen, and fibrinogen. As compared with the premenopausal women (group A), group C showed significantly higher values for AT III and protein C activit y and for t-PA and PAI-1 antigen; and group B and C both showed signif icantly higher fibrinogen concentrations. This probably means that hae mostatic balance was maintained in the postmenopausal women, although the increased concentrations of fibrinogen and PAI-1 might constitute risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease.