Increased Fibrinogen Plasma Concentration Is an Established Risk Marker for Myocardial Infarction: Does It Also Identify a Population at Risk of Stroke?
Within the frame of the Framingham Study, 1,315 participants who were free of cardiovascular disease had their fibrinogen levels measured. During the ensuing 12 years, cardiovascular disease developed in 312 individuals. For both sexes, the risk of cardiovascular disease was correlated positively to antecedent fibrinogen levels higher than 1.3-7.0 g/1. Risk of stroke increased progressively with fibrinogen level in men but not in women. The impact of fibrinogen level, considered as a separate variable, on cardiovascular disease was comparable with major risk factors such as hypertension, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia [Kannel et al., 1987]. Contrary to these risk factors, however, whose control results in a decreased risk, it has never been demonstrated that lowering fibrinogen reduces the cardiovascular risk, which makes it a secondary risk marker, rather than an independent risk factor. Reference Kannel WB, Wolf PA, Castelli WP, D’Agostino RB: Fibrinogen and the risk
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