THE CONCENTRATION OF ANTIHEMOPHILIC GLOBULIN (AHG) IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Abstract

51 male and 8 female patients ranging in age from 38 to 82 years were studied and compared with 43 controls of comparable age. Specific determination of AHG revealed a greater concentration in patients with coronary artery disease than in the controls. This difference was statistically significant. AHG is an important factorin the initial stages of blood coagulation and thromboplastin formation. It is felt that such a factor is more significant in the pathogenesis of thrombosis than is one which participates later in the clotting mechanism and is dependent on activation by thromboplastin. Considerable evidence based on clinical, pathological and epidemiological studies, suggests that the pathogenesis of coronary thrombosis is unrelated to atherosclerosis. In a hypercoagulable state, thrombosis is more prone to occur at a site of local vascular disease, such as an atheromatous plaque, than in a normal vessel. The increased concentration of AHG in patients with coronary artery disease suggests that high concentration represents a hypercoagulabie state and predisposes to thrombosis.