Related Experiment Videos
Effects of exercise on plasma fibrinolytic activity in patients with ischaemic heart disease
N D Hamouratidis1, T E Pertsinidis, G P Bacharoudis
1Department of Cardiology, 2nd I.K.A. Hospital of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Insights
Patients with ischemic heart disease exhibit lower plasma fibrinolytic activity during exercise compared to healthy individuals. This activity remains elevated post-exercise in angina patients, suggesting impaired recovery.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Ischemic heart disease (IHD) impacts cardiovascular health.
- Plasma fibrinolytic activity plays a role in blood clot dissolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of exercise on plasma fibrinolytic activity in patients with IHD.
- To compare fibrinolytic activity between patients with positive and negative exercise tests and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- 109 patients with chronic stable angina pectoris underwent treadmill exercise testing (Bruce protocol).
- Plasma fibrinolytic activity was measured using euglobulin lysis time at rest, peak exercise, and 2 hours post-exercise.
- Patients were grouped based on exercise test results (negative vs. positive).
- Results were compared to a control group of 30 healthy volunteers.
Main Results:
- Healthy controls showed a significant increase in fibrinolytic activity at peak exercise, returning to baseline by 2 hours.
- Patients with angina had significantly lower resting and peak exercise fibrinolytic activity compared to controls.
- Angina patients demonstrated a significant increase in activity during exercise, which remained elevated 2 hours post-exercise.
- Patients with negative exercise tests had near-normal resting activity, increased with exercise but below control levels, and remained elevated post-exercise.
Conclusions:
- Patients with ischemic heart disease have impaired plasma fibrinolytic activity response to exercise.
- The elevated post-exercise fibrinolytic activity in angina patients suggests a delayed recovery of the fibrinolytic system.
Abstract:
In order to investigate the response of plasma fibrinolytic activity to exercise in patients with ischaemic heart disease, we studied 109 patients with chronic stable angina pectoris. All patients were exercised on the treadmill according to the Bruce protocol. They were subsequently divided into 2 groups according to the results of exercise testing. The first group comprised 47 patients with negative exercise tests and the second group 62 patients with positive exercise tests. The plasma fibrinolytic activity was determined in all patients by the method of euglobulin lysis time before exercise, at peak exercise and 2 hours later. The results were compared with those of a control group which consisted of 30 normal healthy volunteers. In the control group there was a significant increase of plasma fibrinolytic activity (P less than 0.001) at peak exercise, which almost returned to the resting levels at 2 hours. In all patients with angina, resting and peak exercise fibrinolytic activity level was significantly lower than that of the control group (P less than 0.01 and less than 0.001, respectively), although at peak exercise it also increased significantly (P less than 0.001) compared to resting levels and it remained elevated at 2 hours after exercise (P less than 0.001). In patients with negative exercise test, plasma fibrinolytic activity at rest was almost identical to that of the control group, it increased with exercise (P less than 0.001) but to values below those of the control group (P less than 0.01) and although there was a tendency to return to resting levels it remained elevated (P less than 0.01) at 2 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)