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Endothelial haemostatic factors may be associated with mortality in patients on long-term anticoagulant treatment
M Brännström1, J H Jansson, K Boman
1Department of Medicine, Skellefteå Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.
The aim of the present study was to test if long-term mortality could be predicted by endothelial derived haemostatic variables in a population with high morbidity due to thromboembolic disease. Plasma samples were drawn from 212 out-patients treated with oral anticoagulants, at the beginning of the study, and analyzed for mass concentration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and its inhibitor (PAI-1), and von Willebrand factor. In the course of 3.8-year follow-up 45 patients died, including 38 vascular deaths. We found that all-cause mortality was significantly associated with increased levels of vWF and tPA. For vascular mortality there was a significant association with all three haemostatic variables (tPA, PAI-1, vWF). For vWF there was a 3-fold increase in total and vascular mortality in the highest quartile compared to the lowest quartile. There were 27 vascular deaths in the group of patients with a tPA-value above the median compared to 11 in those with a tPA below the median. In multivariate Cox regression analysis (including: age, sex, smoking habits, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tPA, PAI-1, and vWF), vWF and smoking were independently significantly associated with all-cause mortality, and tPA and age with vascular mortality. Endothelial derived haemostatic variables are predictors of total and vascular mortality in patients treated with oral anticoagulants.
The aim of the present study was to test if long-term mortality could be predicted by endothelial derived haemostatic variables in a population with high morbidity due to thromboembolic disease. Plasma samples were drawn from 212 out-patients treated with oral anticoagulants, at the beginning of the study, and analyzed for mass concentration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and its inhibitor (PAI-1), and von Willebrand factor. In the course of 3.8-year follow-up 45 patients died, including 38 vascular deaths. We found that all-cause mortality was significantly associated with increased levels of vWF and tPA. For vascular mortality there was a significant association with all three haemostatic variables (tPA, PAI-1, vWF). For vWF there was a 3-fold increase in total and vascular mortality in the highest quartile compared to the lowest quartile. There were 27 vascular deaths in the group of patients with a tPA-value above the median compared to 11 in those with a tPA below the median. In multivariate Cox regression analysis (including: age, sex, smoking habits, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tPA, PAI-1, and vWF), vWF and smoking were independently significantly associated with all-cause mortality, and tPA and age with vascular mortality. Endothelial derived haemostatic variables are predictors of total and vascular mortality in patients treated with oral anticoagulants.