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[Fibrinogen: a cardiovascular risk factor]
J L Colas1, G Montalescot, C Tribouilloy
1Service de Cardiologie B, CHU Sud, Amiens.
Insights
Fibrinogen is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, predicting cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. Further research is needed to confirm if lowering fibrinogen levels reduces these events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Fibrinogen plays a crucial role in thrombosis and inflammation.
- Epidemiological and pathophysiological data suggest fibrinogen is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of fibrinogen as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events.
- To assess fibrinogen's predictive value for various vascular pathologies.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing pathophysiological and epidemiological data.
- Analysis of studies correlating serum fibrinogen levels with atheromatous lesions and clinical events.
Main Results:
- Serum fibrinogen levels independently predict the presence and severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis and related events (sudden death, myocardial infarction, angina).
- Fibrinogen is a marker for cerebrovascular events and predicts recurrent events, correlating with carotid lesion progression.
- It's also an independent predictor for atherosclerosis severity in the thoracic aorta, lower limb arteries, and silent plaques.
Conclusions:
- Fibrinogen is a significant independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
- Further large-scale prospective studies are required to investigate if therapeutic reduction of serum fibrinogen can decrease cardiovascular event rates.
Abstract:
AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR: Pathophysiological and epidemiological data show that fibrinogen is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis with a synergistic effect on classical risk factors.
Coronary Arteries:
Serum fibrinogen level is an independent predictor of the presence and severity of atheromatous lesions of the coronary arteries. It is also predictive of coronary events such as sudden death, myocardial infarction or angina pectoris.
Other Vessels:
Fibrinogen is also a marker of cerebrovascular events or transient ischemia and a factor predictive of recurrent cerebrovascular events. Serum fibrinogen level is correlated with the progression of carotid lesions. Finally, fibrinogen is an independent predictive factor of the severity of atherosclerosis of the thoracic aorta, lower limb arteriopathy, and more generally silent atherosclerotic plaques.
Perspectives:
A large-scale prospective study is needed to determine whether drug-induced reduction in serum fibrinogen can reduce the rate of cardiovascular events.