Plasma fibrinogen in acute coronary syndrome and stable angina

Elevated levels of plasma fibrinogen are associated with an increased risk for recurrent unstable angina and myocardial infarction. We aimed to determine whether there is a stratification among patients with different stages of coronary heart disease with respect to plasma fibrinogen levels. Fifty one consecutive patients presenting to our department with acute coronary syndrome within the last 24-hours and 52 patients with stable angina with no episode of unstable disease within the last month were analyzed. Blood was collected for routine biochemical examination. Statistical analysis was done using Student's t-test and chi-square test, p<0.05 being considered statistically significant. Patients with ACS differed from stable subjects in relation to male/female ratio (40/11 vs. 47/4, p<0.001) and age (63.4+/-10.1 vs. 58.4+/-10.0, p=0.014). Plasma fibrinogen levels (g/L) were significantly higher in patients presenting with ACS than with stable angina (3.87+/-1.2 vs. 3.26+/-0.65 p=0.002). These results seem to confirm the role of this acute phase protein in the pathophysiology of ACS.