Time significance of acute thrombotic reactant markers in patients with and without silent myocardial ischemia and overt unstable angina pectoris

Ischemic electrocardiographic changes were recorded within 2 hours of admission using a 12-lead electrocardiographic continuous monitor with a 20-second scanning interval and an alarm mode for asymptomatic events. Blood samples were obtained at admission and at the moment of asymptomatic events (group A). In the other patients who did not develop ischemia, a second blood sample was taken 12 hours later (group B). We determined prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, clotting factor VIII activity, tissue plasminoaen activator activity, tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, cross-linked fibrin degradation product, and thrombin-antithrombin III complexes. There was a statistically significant difference between group A and B patients when the basal samples were analyzed for thrombin-antithrombin III (p = 0.046) and d-Dimer (p = 0.005). Prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 were significantly reduced, and d-Dimer was elevated when basal blood samples were compared with the second sample in patients who developed silent events (p = 0.008 and 0.055, respectively). A plasma concentration of thrombin-antithrombin III complex was also significantly ecreased when sample 2 was compared with the basal blood sample (p = 0.039). Five recurrent episodes of angina and 2 nonfatal infarctions occurred, and 4 urgent revascularization procedures were performed in group A. In group B, there was only 1 nonfatal infarction (p = 0.01). The results of the present study suggest that a time-dependent thrombotic process is detectable in the blood stream as a cyclic movement. Further studies are needed to determine if some other factors, such as intensive shear stress in the vessel wall, may activate plaque instability during asymptomatic episodes.