Red blood cell aggregation in men with coronary artery disease.

The red blood cell aggregation value (AW) in a group of 39 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) was measured and compared with that of an age- and sex-equivalent group of normals and a group of 12 patients with suspected CAD, whose coronary arteries were found to be normal by coronary arteriography. The AW was significantly higher in CAD patients than in both normal groups (2P < 0.01 and 2P < 0.02 respectively). The AW in a group of 12 CAD-patients treated with the aggregation lowering drug clofibrate was significantly lower than in the untreated CAD-group. The predictive value of AW was calculated by means of mathematical methods. Measurement of AW could be a useful aid in the study of detection of CAD.