Regional Variations in Plasma Fibrinogen Levels

Excerpt

To the Editors: Fibrinogen is currently recognized as a major, independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Several population-based studies have linked fibrinogen with other risk factors and with incidence of future cardiovascular events (1). These studies have also produced a rich source for "normal" values that, surprisingly, range from 2.3 to 4.0 g/L. Obviously, the method of measurement has a strong influence. I therefore looked only at those studies that employed the standard method based on thrombin coagulation time; at least three other methods are frequently used (Table 1).

Mean fibrinogen values vary from 2.3 to 3.1 g/L. This cannot