[Phenotypic familial correlations of prostacyclin and thromboxane A2 levels in children and adolescents with or without hereditary predisposition to ischemic heart disease].

The familial correlations of prostacyclin and thromboxane levels were examined in 90 children and adolescents from 70 families with hereditary coronary heart disease and in 56 of the same age from 38 families without hereditary atherosclerosis and their parents. The genetic factors were demonstrated to make a significant contribution to the phenotypic dispersion of prostanoids. The familial predisposition to the disease was ascertained to modify the pattern of familial correlations of prostacyclin and thromboxane levels as compared with no predisposition. The influence of familial and environmental factors was found to be more pronounced in the families of patients with coronary heart disease, and one of the important sequelae is thromboxane hyperproduction in the patients' wives.