[Decreased fibrinolytic capacity in coronary patients by increased plasminogen activator inhibitor activity].

The fibrinolytic capacity of the blood mainly depends on the amount of tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI). In this study the fibrinolytic response to a venous occlusion test (VOT) was measured in 109 patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) and in 20 healthy volunteers at comparable age (controls). CAD-patients had higher plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor capacity before (24.4 +/- 11.0 vs. 15.4 +/- 5.2 arbitrary units [AU/ml]; p less than 0.0002) and after VOT (19.6 +/- 13.2 vs. 10.9 +/- 5.3 AU/ml; p less than 0.0001) compared with controls. Furthermore they showed significant lower plasma t-PA activity after VOT (3.0 +/- 6.8 vs. 6.6 +/- 10.6 AU/ml; p less than 0.0001). However there were no difference between both groups in plasma t-PA antigen levels after VOT (17.3 +/- 12.1 vs. 18.7 +/- 14.4 ng/ml). In 10% of patients the decrease in fibrinolytic activity resulted from a lower t-PA release ("lower" was defined as mean minus one standard deviation of the control group). 40% showed elevated plasma PAI capacity before VOT ("elevated" was defined as mean plus two standard deviations of the control group). Both caused significantly reduced post occlusion plasma t-PA activity and prolonged Euglobulin clot lysis time (p less than 0.003). A positive correlation was found between PAI capacity and serum triglyceride levels. Reduced fibrinolytic activity in 109 patients with coronary heart disease based either on a decrease in t-PA antigen release or a increased in PAI capacity in comparison with healthy controls. The mechanism of these findings is not yet well-known.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)