Blood fibrinolytic activity in diabetes mellitus and its bearing on ischaeviic heart disease and obesity

Abstract

Blood fibrinolytic activity was compared by a single estimation in 50 male and 50 female diabetic out-patients, and in equal numbers of age-matched controls selected because of freedom from occlusive vascular disease. The diabetics as a group had lower fibrinolytic activity than the controls, and among the diabetics electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial ischaemia occurred twice as -commonly in those whose fibrinolytic activity was low as in those whose fibrinolytic activity was high. A significant inverse relationship between obesity and fibrinolytic activity was found in every group of patients except the female controls. There was no association between age and fibrinolytic activity, and among the diabetics no correlation between fibrinolytic activity and duration of diabetes, blood-sugar level, or cholesterol level. These observations suggest that spontaneous fibrinolysis is of importance. If the function of fibrinolysis is to maintain vascular patency the possibility of enhancing its action pharmacologically may permit a fresh approach to the problem of occlusive vascular disease. © 1963, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.