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. 2006 Dec 5;26(4):164–168. doi: 10.1002/clc.4960260403

Fibrin D‐dimer: A marker of psychosocial distress and its implications for research in stress‐related coronary artery disease

Roland Von Känel 1,2,✉, Joel E Dimsdale 2
PMCID: PMC6653844  PMID: 12708621

Abstract

Psychosocial factors might mediate their adverse impact on coronary arteries by eliciting a hypercoagulable state via changes in sympathetic nervous system activity. A recent meta‐analysis of prospective studies reported an association of the hypercoagulability marker D‐dimer with an increased risk for coronary events. This review provides evidence that an elevated plasma D‐dimer level is a suitable marker for acute and chronic psychosocial distress. Prospective studies need to show whether stress‐related changes in D‐dimer may help explain the increased coronary risk with psychosocial distress.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system; coronary disease; hemostasis, D‐dimer; psychological stress; thrombosis/embolism

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