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Thromb Haemost 1996; 75(01): 019-024
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1650215
Original Article
Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart

Smoking, Haemostatic Factors and the Severity of Aorto-lliac and Femoro-Popliteal Disease

F B Smith
1   The Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
,
A J Lee
1   The Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
,
F G R Fowkes
1   The Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK
,
A Rumley
2   The Haemostasis, Thrombosis and Vascular Medicine Unit, University Department of Medicine, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, UK
,
G D O Lowe
2   The Haemostasis, Thrombosis and Vascular Medicine Unit, University Department of Medicine, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, UK
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 27 July 1995

Accepted after resubmission 10 October 1995

Publication Date:
10 July 2018 (online)

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Summary

To determine relationships between haemostatic and rheological factors and severity of peripheral atherosclerosis and differences by site, an angiographic cross-sectional survey was carried out on 192 men and women with intermittent claudication or rest pain. 34 patients were classified as having aorto-iliac disease, 85 femoro-popliteal disease and 73 dual-site disease. Mean levels of haemostatic or rheological factors did not differ significantly between the three site groups. In all 192 patients, disease severity in the femoro-popliteal segments was correlated with plasma nephelometric fibrinogen (r = 0.20, p ≤0.01), von Willebrand factor (r = 0.14, p ≤0.05) and fibrin D-dimer (r = 0.22, p ≤0.001). On multiple regression analyses, fibrinogen was independently associated with disease severity in the femoro-popliteal segments (p ≤0.05), but not in the aorto-iliac segments. Adjustment for packyears or serum thiocyanate had little effect on the association of fibrinogen with severity of disease. An inverse relationship between plasminogen activator inhibitor and disease severity in the femoro-popliteal segments was found only in men (r = -0.24, p ≤0.01). We conclude that elevated fibrinogen and disturbed fibrinolytic activity may be related to the extent of disease within the femoro-popliteal arteries, more so than in the aorto-iliac arteries.

 

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