Re: fibrogen and heart disease

Gabriele Betti (lbetti@dinonet.it)
Tue, 17 Aug 1999 19:00:18 +0200

I wonder why I have to pay to get what I need! Gabriele

At 01.19 17/08/99 -0700, you wrote:
>The Life Extension Foundation provides a Fibrinogen test without requiring a
>prescription from a doctor: It's $55:
>http://www.lef.org/newshop/cgi-shop/showCategory.cgi?catid=23000
>
>I vaguely recall that there's a way to reduce Fibrinogen with supplements,
>so I believe it's worth taking the test.
>
>They also do Homocysteine for $110. High homocysteine is also associated
>with heart attack. It can be reduced with a B vitamin.
>
>I have no association with the LEF and I don't know anything about their
>tests in specific.
>
>I'm curious if anyone has an opinion on their cancer profile.
>
>Elizabeth Childs
>echilds@linex.com
>Yoda's Witness
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Doug Skrecky <oberon@vcn.bc.ca>
>To: <extropians-digest@extropy.com>
>Sent: Monday, August 16, 1999 3:12 PM
>Subject: fibrogen and heart disease
>
>
>> Authors
>> Woodward M. Lowe GD. Rumley A. Tunstall-Pedoe H.
>> Institution
>> Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, University of Dundee, Scotland.
>> Title
>> Fibrinogen as a risk factor for coronary heart disease and
>> mortality in middle-aged men and women. The Scottish Heart
>> Health Study.
>> Source
>> European Heart Journal. 19(1):55-62, 1998 Jan.
>> Abstract
>> AIMS: Fibrinogen was measured in 5095 men and 4860 men aged
>> 40-59 in a random population sample from 25 districts of Scotland
>recruited
>> during 1984-87: the Scottish Heart Health Study. Fibrinogen
>> was then related to the chance of fatal and non-fatal coronary events
>and
>> death from any cause during a subsequent follow-up period of around 8
>years.
>> METHODS AND RESULTS: Fibrinogen was measured by the Clauss
>> assay. The effect of fibrinogen on coronary heart disease
>> and death was assessed through age-adjusted means and Cox proportional
>> hazards regression models, accounting for age, cotinine (a measure of
>tobacco
>> smoke inhalation) and 11 other major coronary risk factors.
>> Fibrinogen was found to be an important risk factor for
>> coronary heart disease in men and women, with and without pre-existing
>> coronary heart disease. There appears to be a threshold effect, with
>those in
>> the highest fifth of the distribution having a much increased risk.
>Estimated
>> age-adjusted hazard ratios by sex and pre-existing coronary heart
>disease
>> group for the highest to lowest fifth of fibrinogen range
>> between 1.93 and 4.86. Fibrinogen is also important as a
>> risk factor for coronary death and all-causes mortality,
>> with a similar threshold effect. Comparing the two extreme fifths, the
>hazard
>> ratios for coronary death are 3.01 and 3.42, and for all-cause
>> mortality are 2.59 and 2.20, for men and women respectively.
>> Adjustment for cotinine reduces the hazard ratios, but further
>adjustment for
>> the other 11 risk factors has little effect for coronary heart disease
>> events. After full adjustment there is a remaining significant (P <
>0.05)
>> hazard ratio for coronary death and death from any cause and for a
>coronary

>> heart disease event for those free of coronary heart disease at
>baseline,
>> amongst men, comparing the highest to the lowest fifth. CONCLUSION:
>> Fibrinogen is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease,
>> fatal or non-fatal, new or recurrent, and of death from an unspecified
>cause,
>> for both men and women. Its effect is only partially attributable to
>other
>> coronary risk factors, the most important of which is smoking.
>>
>>
>>
>