Background: Tissue factor (TF) is a low molecular weight glycoprotein that initiates the clotting cascade and is considered to be a major regulator of coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombosis.
Methods and results: We examined plasma TF levels in 31 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (within 6 hours after the onset of symptoms), 27 patients with stable exertional angina, and 27 control subjects. Ten patients with AMI had a history of unstable angina before infarction, and 21 had a sudden onset of infarction. The plasma TF level was higher in the AMI group than in the stable exertional angina and control groups (240 +/- 112 vs 184 +/- 46 pg/ml [p < 0.05] vs 177 +/- 37 pg/ml, p < 0.01, respectively). TF levels were decreased in the chronic phase (2 weeks after admission) compared with the acute phase of infarction (from 240 +/- 112 pg/ml to 222 +/- 97 pg/ml, p < 0.05). In addition, plasma TF levels were higher in patients with AMI with prodromal unstable angina than in patients with a sudden onset of infarction (300 +/- 169 pg/ml vs 212 +/- 57 pg/ml, p < 0.05). TF levels were similar in the acute and chronic phases in the patients with AMI with prodromal unstable angina (300 +/- 169 pg/ml vs 290 +/- 136 pg/ml, p = not significant) but were decreased in the chronic phase in the patients with AMI with sudden onset (from 212 +/- 57 pg/ml to 190 +/- 49 pg/ml, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Increased plasma TF levels in patients with AMI may reflect enhanced intravascular procoagulant activity. The higher TF levels in patients with AMI with prodramol unstable angina may be associated with repeated episodes of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.