Coagulation changes in long distance runners and their relevance to the prevention of ischaemic heart diseases
Coagulation changes in long distance runners and their relevance to the prevention of ischaemic heart diseases
Regular exercise can be shown to be effective in preventing ischaemic heart disease but occasionally it may precipitate myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. Exercise is also a potent stimulus of certain coagulation mechanisms. Although heart disease is multifactorial there is good evidence that thrombus formation is important and that raised coagulation factors are associated with an increased cardiac risk. It may be that exercise affects the pathogenesis of ischaemic heart disease through its effect on coagulation. This thesis explores the hypothesis that the cardioprotection resulting from regular exercise and the increased risk of cardiac events during exercise are both the results of changes in coagulation. The work includes a review of the literature which establishes the risks and benefits of exercise and the importance of coagulation in ischaemic heart disease and presents the current knowledge of the effects of exercise on coagulation. The original work investigates the effects of running distances of between 10 and 26.2 miles on coagulation variables in trained runners and compares the levels of these variables at rest with controls. The variables studied include basic coagulation tests plus fibrinogen and factor VII levels. Factor VIII was measured as coagulant activity (one and two stage techniques) and as factor VIII related antigen. Fibrinolysis was measured by euglobulin clot lysis time. Platelet count and aggregation were measured. The major, new, positive findings are that trained runners have higher levels of fibrinolysis and reduced platelet aggregation. Both of these make blood less coagulable and support the concept that running contributes to cardioprotection by reducing the likelihood of thrombosis.
University of Southampton
1988
Watts, Eric
(1988)
Coagulation changes in long distance runners and their relevance to the prevention of ischaemic heart diseases.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Regular exercise can be shown to be effective in preventing ischaemic heart disease but occasionally it may precipitate myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. Exercise is also a potent stimulus of certain coagulation mechanisms. Although heart disease is multifactorial there is good evidence that thrombus formation is important and that raised coagulation factors are associated with an increased cardiac risk. It may be that exercise affects the pathogenesis of ischaemic heart disease through its effect on coagulation. This thesis explores the hypothesis that the cardioprotection resulting from regular exercise and the increased risk of cardiac events during exercise are both the results of changes in coagulation. The work includes a review of the literature which establishes the risks and benefits of exercise and the importance of coagulation in ischaemic heart disease and presents the current knowledge of the effects of exercise on coagulation. The original work investigates the effects of running distances of between 10 and 26.2 miles on coagulation variables in trained runners and compares the levels of these variables at rest with controls. The variables studied include basic coagulation tests plus fibrinogen and factor VII levels. Factor VIII was measured as coagulant activity (one and two stage techniques) and as factor VIII related antigen. Fibrinolysis was measured by euglobulin clot lysis time. Platelet count and aggregation were measured. The major, new, positive findings are that trained runners have higher levels of fibrinolysis and reduced platelet aggregation. Both of these make blood less coagulable and support the concept that running contributes to cardioprotection by reducing the likelihood of thrombosis.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 1988
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 461356
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461356
PURE UUID: b1268110-5362-46a4-b8af-3025ea8139d0
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:43
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:43
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Eric Watts
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics