The association of hyperestrogenemia with coronary thrombosis in men.

Both hyperestrogenemia and hypotestosteronemia have been reported in association with myocardial infarction (MI) in men. It was previously observed that the serum testosterone concentration correlated negatively with the degree of coronary artery disease (CAD) in men who had never had a known MI. The present study investigated the relationship of sex hormone levels to the thrombotic component of MI by comparing these levels in 18 men who had had an MI (ie, thrombosis) and 50 men with no history of MI (ie, no thrombosis) whose degree of CAD was in the same range. The mean degree of CAD, age, and body mass index in these two groups was not significantly different. The mean serum estradiol level in the men who had had an MI (38.5 +/- 8.8 pg/mL) was higher (P = .002) than the level in the men who had not had an MI (31.9 +/- 7.1 pg/mL). The mean levels of testosterone, free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, insulin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, cholesterol, HDI, cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not differ significantly. Estradiol was the only variable measured that showed a significant relationship to MI (P < .003 by multivariate logistic regression). These findings suggest that hyperestrogenemia may be related to the thrombosis of MI.