Lack of fibrin formation in exercise-induced activation of coagulation

Strenuous physical exercise leads to a significant shortening of blood clotting in various test systems. Such short times are also characteristic of those observed in sedentary patients with thrombosis or disseminated intravascular coagulation, and of those observed in experimental animals after thrombin infusion. The patients exhibit an increase in circulating fibrinopeptide A, which is attributed to thrombin action on circulating fibrinogen, and to an increase of fibrinogen degradation products, which is thought to indicate reactive fibrinolysis. To check whether physical exercise leads to fibrinemia, 10 healthy male volunteers were subjected to strenuous exercise on a bicycle ergometer. Blood samples were taken immediately before and on completion of the exercise period. Despite a significant shortening of the activated partial thromboplastin time, the thrombin time, and the Reptilase time, no increase of fibrinopeptide A could be demonstrated and the ethanol gelation test remained consistently negative. Simultaneously, the euglobulin lysis time was significantly shortened, whereas the fibrin(ogen) degradation products did not increase. The results indicate that the shortening of the coagulation times associated with physical exercise must be explained by mechanisms other than thrombin-mediated conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin.