Relation between hemostatic variables and changes of carotid intima-media thickness in PAD patients

Changes in common carotid intima-media thickness (CC-IMT), as measured by B-mode ultrasonography, have been used in both population studies and clinical trials to seek risk factors for early atherosclerosis progression and have already identified age, systolic blood pressure, smoking, high LDL- and low HDL-cholesterol, and fibrinogen. Objective: To assess the relations between baseline hemostatic and conventional risk factors and CC-IMT changes aver 16 months (delta CC-IMT) in 64 peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients randomly selected from the prospective PLAT study (l, 2). Design: Samples from 44 (68.7%;) patients who presented an increase of CC-IMT during the follow up period were compared with those from 20 (31.3%), in whom CC-IMT remained unchanged during the same time frame. Results: Conventional risk factors and coagulation variables were similar in the two groups, except far higher vWF:Ag (164.6±58.0 vs 133.5±46.6%, p= 0.04) and FVII (121.6±38.0 vs 108.1±16.7%, p=0.07) in the patients with increased CC-IMT. Delta CC-IMT correlated positively with plasma levels of FVII (r=0.31, p<0.01 and vWF:Ag (r=0.31, p<0.01). Conclusions: High FVII and vWF:Ag might be risk factors for the progression of early carotid atherosclerosis in PAD patients. l. Atherosclerosis, 1991;90:109-118. 2. Arterioscler Thromb, 1993;13:1412-17.