Fibrinogen in the offspring of men with premature coronary artery disease

We examined whether the levels of fibrinogen are elevated in the offspring of middle-aged coronary patients. One hundred and seventy-six young subjects were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 100 children and youngsters (mean age 17 +/- 6 years) whose fathers had sustained a myocardial infarction under the age 55 years without associated history of diabetes mellitus or hypertension. Seventy-six healthy young subjects (mean age 18 +/- 5 years) matched for gender, dietary and smoking habits without familial history of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus or hypertension served as the control group (group B). Fibrinogen, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-1, apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein (a) were measured. Sons and daughters with a history of premature paternal myocardial infarction had higher levels of fibrinogen compared with control subjects (304.1 +/- 60 vs 274 +/- 53 mg. dl-1, P < 0.001). This difference was maintained when the above groups were divided into single sex groups. Total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein (a) were also significantly higher in group A. Children of affected individuals who had a good lipid profile also had significantly higher fibrinogen levels compared to control group. The results support the hypothesis that the higher plasma levels of fibrinogen in the offspring of middle-aged coronary men could partially explain their predisposition for coronary artery disease. Since the levels of fibrinogen have a major genetic component, they could be a useful marker in identifying children at high risk for coronary artery disease, especially among those with no lipid abnormalities.