Fibrinogen derivatives and recurrent myocardial infarction

Plasma fibrinogen, soluble fibrin monomer complexes (FMM) in plasma and fibrin degradation products (FDP) in serum were studied in 31 patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) during their stay in hospital. The ECGs of 15 patients indicated a high risk of recurrent MI. Seven patients had a recurrent MI within three months. No correlation could be found between plasma fibrinogen or FMM and reinfarction, but FDP was increased in six of the seven patients with reinfarction compared to six of the 24 without (p less than 0.01).