Effect of alteration in triglyceride levels on factor VII-phospholipid complexes in plasma.

Clotting Factor VII activity emerges as a highly significant predictive factor for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in prospective trials. We have previously shown that in hypertriglyceridemic individuals a fraction of their clotting Factor VII molecules is present in an activated state in phospholipase C-sensitive complexes in plasma. These complexes may explain the increased Factor VII activity observed to be a predictive factor for CVD. We demonstrate here that the level of such complexes is amenable to dietary intervention and that the alteration in Factor VII complex levels correlates closely with the corresponding alteration in triglycerides.