Effects of exercise and conditioning on clotting and fibrinolytic activity in men

Sixty healthy men in three physical fitness categories (sedentary, on no organized fitness program; joggers, running 5-15 miles/wk; and marathoners, running greater than 50 miles/wk) were evaluated for changes in blood clotting and fibrinolytic activity before and after maximum exercise on a treadmill according to the Bruce protocol. The rate of blood clotting, as measured by prothrombin times, partial thromboplastin times and thrombin times, was accelerated by exercise (all P less than 0.005). The ability of euglobulin clots and plasma clots to lyse incorporated 125I-fibrin, termed 125I-euglobulin clot lysis (IEL) and 125I-plasma clot lysis (IPCL), were used as indexes of fibrinolytic activity. Marathoners had greater increases in fibrinolytic activity with exercise (76% compared with 63% for joggers and 55% for sedentary subjects by IEL; 427% compared with 418% for joggers and 309% for sedentary subjects by IPCL; all P less than 0.05). Fibrin degradation products increased with exercise (P less than 0.005 for the total group of 60 subjects). The absolute concentrations of alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor, alpha 2-macroglobulin, and antithrombin III increased with exercise (all P less than 0.005), but when concentrations were corrected for acute shifts of plasma water during exercise, the quantity of these inhibitors actually decreased (all P less than 0.005). The changes in clotting assays with exercise were not significantly correlated with changes in whole blood lactate, blood pyruvate, or rectal temperatures. Fibrinolytic assays before and after exercise correlated poorly to moderately with blood lactates (IEL: r = 0.441 and r = 0.425, respectively; IPCL: r = 0.294 and r = 0.544, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)