OBJECTIVES

We studied the association of the Pl^A1/A2 polymorphism with coronary thrombosis, myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in autopsied victims of sudden death.

BACKGROUND

Sudden cardiac death is one of the leading symptoms of coronary heart disease in early middle age. Platelet glycoprotein (GP)IIb/IIIa fibrinogen receptors play a key role in coronary thrombosis and MI. Pl^A1/A2 polymorphism of the gene for GPIIIa has been previously studied in hospital MI patients. Significance of the Pl^A1/A2 polymorphism in victims of SCD is not known.

METHODS

The Pl^A1/A2 polymorphism was studied in the Helsinki Sudden Death Study comprising 700 autopsied middle-aged white Finnish men (33 to 70 years, mean 53 years) who suffered sudden or violent out-of-hospital death.

RESULTS

Prevalence of the A2 allele decreased with age in the series. This decrease was observed among victims of SCD (n = 281) but not in men who died violently (n = 258) or of other diseases (n = 127). Of SCD victims below 50 years, 39.7% were carriers of the A2 allele compared with 28.3% among men under 50 who died of other causes (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, p = 0.01). Men with acute fatal coronary thrombosis (n = 39) were more often (OR 3.4, p < 0.01) carriers of the A2 allele than were men (n = 242) with SCD in the absence of acute coronary thrombosis (48.7% vs. 24.4%, respectively). In addition, men with MI and recent or old thrombosis (n = 67) were more often (OR 3.6, p = 0.005) carriers of the A2 allele than were men (n = 123) with MI in the absence of thrombosis (44.8% vs. 20.3%, respectively). These associations were especially strong in men under 60.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the A2 allele of the Pl^A1/A2 polymorphism of GPIIIa is a major risk factor of coronary thrombosis and may be one important predictor of SCD in early middle age.