The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of treadmill exercise (TME) on coagulo-fibrinolytic function. Near-maximal TME was performed according to the modified Bruce protocol for Japanese in 15 healthy men (22-45 years old; average, 34.8 years) and 16 male patients (36-61 years old; average, 45.6 years) with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Of the IHD patients, 8 had stable effort angina pectoris and 8 had a previous myocardial infarction without angina pectoris. Blood samples were obtained from the antecubital vein at rest and immediately after exercise. Measurements were made for levels of plasma protein C, tissue plasminogen activator (T-PA), fibrinopeptide A (FPA), fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 (FPBβ15-42) and D-dimer.
Pre-exercise levels of plasma T-PA and FPA were higher, and FPBβ15-42 was lower in IHD patients than in healthy men. There were no significant changes observed in levels of plasma protein C, FPA, FPBβ15-42 and D-dimer after TME in both groups. However, T-PA increased after exercise from 4.4ng/ml to 4.8ng/ml in IHD and from 2.6ng/ml to 3.4ng/ml in healthy men, the increase being greater in healthy men than in IHD.
In conclusion, moderate TME increases plasma T-PA levels without inducing abnormal intravascular coagulation in patients with IHD as well as in healthy controls.
