Clotting Factor Levels in Patients with Coronary Atherosclerosis

Abstract

The clotting system was studied in a number of patients with coronary atherosclerotic disease, with special regard to antihemophilic A factor (AHA) and antihemophilic C factor (AHC).

The levels of a number of clotting factors were determined in plasma samples from 14 patients with atherosclerotic coronary disease before the start of anticoagulant treatment. A similar study was made in 80 patients with the same disease under long-term anticoagulant treatment with phenylindanedione or dicoumarol for more than 3 months.

AHA was found on the average higher in both groups of patients than in a group of 30 normal healthy persons. The AHA values did not seem to be definitely correlated with age, judged from the variations within the group of normal persons and within the group of treated patients. The high AHA values were not found to he correlated in any definite way with the duration of the anticoagulant treatment.

The investigations confirmed the findings of other workers that average fibrinogen levels in these patients are high. The fibrinogen values, like those for AHA, seemed neither to be markedly correlated with age, judged from the variations within the group of treated patients, nor with the duration of treatment. The study showed a positive correlation between high AHA and high fibrinogen values in the treated patients.

Average AHC was found near the normal level for both investigated groups of patients, supporting the assumption that AHC it not specially affected by the anticoagulant treatment.

Average AHB, proaccelerin, proconvertin and prothrombin + Stuart-Prower factor were near the normal level in the untreated patients. Assays in the treated patients showed markedly decreased AHB, and roughly normal average for proaccelerin, in accordance with the findings of other workers.