Follow-up of hemorheological parameters and platelet aggregation in patients with acute coronary syndromes

Pathologic hemorheological parameters and increased platelet aggregation in association with other risk factors significantly increase the possibility of the development of myocardial ischemia. Hemorheological parameters and platelet aggregation were investigated in 157 patients (mean age: 65+/-12 years) with acute coronary syndromes and in 68 healthy subjects (mean age: 36+/-6 years). Plasma fibrinogen, plasma and whole blood viscosity, red blood cell aggregation and filterability and platelet aggregation were measured in the hospital phase (after admission, on 2nd and 6th days) and monitored after discharge (at 1, 6 and 12 months). After admission all these parameters were significantly higher in patients than in control subjects (p<0.01) and almost all of them remained in the pathologic range at discharge. Some of the rheologic parameters showed a slight improvement after 1 month, but hematocrit and whole blood viscosity were higher than those after admission and of control subjects (p<0.05). After 6 and 12 months these parameters showed a small, but significant increase. Pathologically altered hemorheological parameters could be observed in patients with classical cardiovascular risk factors and significant improvement was found after elimination of them. Antiplatelet therapy was efficient in about half of the treated patients after admission; and despite a significant improvement, the proportion of ineffectively treated patients was still considerable during the follow-up. Our results support the role of abnormal hemorheological parameters in the development of myocardial ischemia and draw attention to the rheologic risk of these patients. The results of platelet aggregation measurements show the insufficiency of antiplatelet therapy at some cases and confirm the importance of guided secondary prevention.