Lowering fibrinogen levels: clinical update. BIP Study Group. Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention

The preliminary conclusions from the BIP Study on the issue of fibrinogen are: (1) baseline fibrinogen was associated with age, gender, behavioral variables, lipid profile and severity of coronary heart disease. Furthermore, baseline fibrinogen emerged as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease; (2) reduction of fibrinogen was not associated with a decrease in cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease; (3) however, in patients with high baseline fibrinogen levels, reduction of fibrinogen was associated with a decrease in the incidence of primary endpoints, cardiac death and ischemic stroke. Further analysis from the BIP Study and additional data from other studies are necessary in order to clarify the possible association between fibrinogen alteration and cardiovascular events.