Plasma fibrinogen in essential hypertension patients

Plasma fibrinogen is an important component of the coagulation cascade and also a major determinant of blood viscosity and blood flow . Many factors including reduced blood flow due to elevated viscosity of plasma have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension . The aim of this study is to assess the plasma fibrinogen level in hypertensives and to compare whether there is difference in plasma fibrinogen level between obese and non-obese hypertensives and normal individuals.Methods- This case control study was conducted in the Department of Internal Medicine,Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Institute of Biochemistry, Madras Medical College, Chennai. 30 cases of hypertension without obesity,30 cases of hypertension with obesity and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Plasma fibrinogen level was measured by Clauss method.Results- Hypertensive patients was found to have elevated plasma fibrinogen levels than control subjects (1.83plus or minus 0.84gram per liter, p less than 0.016), among them Obese hypertensives had higher fibrinogen level (3.04plus or minus0.58gram per liter) than non obese hypertensives (2.70plus or minus0.40 gram per liter, p less than 0.001). Conclusion-. Plasma fibrinogen level was higher in hypertensive patients than healthy controls. Thus monitoring of plasma fibinogen level among hypertensives and using drugs to reduce to normal level may prevent the development of thrombotic complications in hypertensive patients.