Plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor activities in men with coronary artery disease.

Although elevated levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) have been associated with the development of myocardial infarction, the correlation between the presence of coronary artery disease and increased levels of PAI-1 is controversial. The present study evaluated the association between angiographically-documented coronary artery disease and plasma levels of PAI-1 and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in 65 men (ages 35 to 65 years) who had no previous history of myocardial infarction, angioplasty, or other medical illnesses. PAI-1 activity in these 65 patients was inversely correlated with t-PA activity, which was measured before and after venous occlusion. PAI-1 activity correlated positively with levels of triglycerides. There was a significant negative correlation between PAI-1 activity and levels of high-density lipoprotein. Each patient was placed in one of five groups according to the severity of coronary atherosclerosis, which ranged from normal vessels (group I) to greater than 50% occlusion of three vessels (group V). There were no significant differences among the five groups with respect to mean activity of PAI-1 (p = 0.98) or t-PA activity measured before venous occlusion (p = 0.22) or after occlusion (p = 0.70). T-PA and PAI-1 activities in these five groups were not different from those in 35 healthy men. These data indicate that there is no association between activities of PAI-1 or t-PA and coronary artery disease in this well-characterized male population.