SEX-HORMONES AND HEMOSTATIC RISK-FACTORS FOR CORONARY HEART-DISEASE IN MEN WITH HYPERTENSION

Objective and design: It has been hypothesized that risk factors for coronary heart disease in men are linked and that the underlying factor linking them may be an alteration in the sex hormone milieu. As a test of this hypothesis, sex hormones and fibrinogen, factor VII and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), hemostatic factors recently shown to be risk factors for myocardial infarction, were measured in men with hypertension and in healthy control subjects. Results: The fasting serum testosterone and free testosterone levels were decreased and the plasma factor VII and PAI-1 levels increased in the men with hypertension. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with the stated hypothesis.