Factor V Leiden is a risk factor for myocardial infarction in young Turkish men

Objective-Factor V Leiden is the most common known hereditary abnormality of the clotting system which leads to a reduced anticoagulant effect of activated protein C (APC resistance). Factor V Leiden has been shown to be the most frequent inherited thrombophilic disorder in patients with idiopathic venous thromboembolism. The relationship between this genetic abnormality and myocardial infarction is still unresolved. The aim of this study was to investigate whether factor V Leiden is a risk factor for myocardial infarction in young Turkish men or not. Methods and results-We compared 42 patients who had a diagnosis of acute MI and were younger than 40 years (35.6 +/- 4.8 years) with 66 healthy, age and sex-matched control subjects. Blood samples from the patients and the controls were analysed for the factor V Leiden mutation by DNA analysis, using polimerase chain reaction. Factor V Leiden mutation was found in 10 of 42 (23.8%) patients with myocardial infarction and 6 of 66 (9%) control subjects (p < 0.001). The odds ratio for MI was 3.1. (CI 95% 1.0-8.9) Conclusion-The results of this study suggest that the presence of factor V Leiden increases the risk of MI in young Turkish men.