The relationship between blood fibrinogen level and coronary artery disease

Abstract

The relationships between librinogen level and the extent and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), and between librinogen level and the major risk fattors for CAD were evaluated in 91 male patients with symptomatic CAD undergoing elective coronary angiography. Fibrinogen level correlated (P<0.05) with age (r=0.21), past cigarette use (expressed in “pack-years”(r=0.2l), triglycerides (r = 0.25), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (r=-0.34). the number of previous infants (r=0.22), the number of stenoses greater than 50“, (r=0.21), the number of stenoses greater than 70% (r=0.27), the number of total occlusions (r=0.21), CAD severity (as measured by a coronary stenosis scorel (r = 0.32), and left ventricular damage (as measured by an indication of left ventricular dysfunction) (r = 0.31), but not with the extent of CAD (measured by a coronary atheromatous score) (r=0.14). These multiple weak correlations were evaluated bv multiple linear regression analysis; the fibrinogen level was directly predicted only by age, pack-years and severity of CAD, and inversely by the HDL cholesterol level. An association between the fibrinogen level and the severity of CAD was still present after adjustment for age. total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and cigarette smoking. However, when evaluating the effect of fibrinogen and these various coronary heart disease risk factors by multiple linear regression, with severity of stenosis and extent of atheroma as dependent variables, age was the only independent factor predictive of these measures of extent and severity of CAD in this patient population. Because it is unlikely that elevated fibrinogen levels in CAD result directly from atheromatous involvement of the coronary artery and are also related to other major risk factors for CAD, fibrinogen levels are of little value in identifying individuals with severe CAD.