Fibrinopeptide A: A marker of acute coronary thrombosis

Abstract

To determine whether coronary thrombosis in vivo is reflected by elevations in levels of fibrinopeptide A (FPA) in plasma, we sequentially characterized plasma FPA levels associated with evolving infarction in patients admitted to the cardiac care unit early after the onset of symptoms, in patients with transmural infarction admitted later, and in patients with nontransmural infarction. Studies were also performed in patients in whom the diagnosis of infarction was suspected but subsequently excluded. FPA values were significantly higher in patients with transmural infarction (42.3 ± 11.2 ng/ml [mean ± SEM], n = 53) compared with those in patients with nontransmural infarction (4.8 ± 1.6 ng/ml, n = 17) or with those in patients in whom infarction was subsequently excluded as a diagnosis (3.5 ± 0.6 ng/ml, n = 17, p