Elevated level of von Willebrand factor as an additional risk factor for cardiovascular events in patients with early coronary atherosclerosis

Background. One of the urgent problem of modern cardiology is the search for markers to assess the risk of CV (cardiovascular) events in patients with CAD. Objective. To evaluate the level of von Willebrand factor (vWF) in the blood plasma of patients with early onset of CAD and the study of the relationship between vWF hyperproduction and the risk of recurrent CV events. Design and methods. We examined 80 patients who underwent acute myocardial infarction and/or surgical treatment of CAD in the amount of percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery at the age of up to 55 years (men) and up to 60 years (women). Results. The following predictors of an unfavorable course of coronary artery disease in the examined patients were identified: an increased level of vWF, a higher BMI, and hypoalphacholesterolemia at the inclusion in the study. Among patients with normal vWF, no adverse CV events were recorded after 2 years of observation. A number of factors included in the prognostic model for the development of a recurrent CV event were identified: vWF level, age, BMI, hyperglycemia, and carotid atherosclerosis. Model demonstrated 92.5 % agreement between the forecast and the observation. Conclusions. Elevated plasma vWF levels may serve as an additional risk factor for the development of recurrent CV events in patients with early manifestations of CAD.