Fibrinolytic Activity in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

There is experimental evidence to suggest that some cases of acute coronary artery thrombosis may be related to decreased plasma fibrinolytic activity. Adequate confirmation of this hypothesis has been limited because common methods for estimating plasma fibrinolytic activity are relatively insensitive or inaccurate. Development of a new fibrin plate technic has made it possible to test this hypothesis. Using this new technic, the fibrinolytic potential of 30 patients who had acute myocardial infarction was measured. Fibrinolytic activity was also measured in 100 “normal” individuals to establish normal values. The average lysis zone diameter produced by the normal population was 4.1 mm. Ten of the test population had substantially lower plasma fibrinolytic potentials. These individuals present further evidence that depressed plasma fibrinolytic potential might increase the risk of coronary artery thrombosis.