Influence of fibrinogen on cardiovascular disease.

Results from prevalence, case-control, angiographic and echocardiographic investigations incriminate elevated fibrinogen levels as a strong independent risk factor for the occurrence of initial and recurrent cardiovascular events. Average fibrinogen levels are higher in women and persons with other risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking, obesity, elevated haematocrit value and dyslipidaemia. Fibrinogen tends to cluster with most of these major atherogenic cardiovascular risk factors and further enhances their risk. Prospective data indicate a relationship between fibrinogen and the subsequent development of all the major atherosclerotic cardiovascular events including coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. Fibrinogen adds to the multivariate risk of cardiovascular events, especially in the high risk subset of the population. In the Framingham Heart Study, a comparison of risk gradients, exemplified by their regression coefficients, was similar for all outcomes (coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular disease) in men, whereas, in women, the risk gradient for fibrinogen appeared weakest for stroke. Fibrinogen exerts an independent influence on the frequency of cardiovascular disease in general, and coronary heart disease in particular. For example, in both men and women, each standard deviation increase in fibrinogen level (about 0.56 g/L) within the range of usual values is associated with about a 20% age- and risk factor-adjusted increase in the incidence of an initial cardiovascular event. Fibrinogen should be added to the list of major atherogenic cardiovascular risk factors; in addition, there is a need for intervention trials designed to test the efficacy of lowering fibrinogen in individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease.