Ischemia--a coagulation problem?

The causes of perioperative ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI) in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients are almost certainly multifactorial, although not well understood. Ultimately, outcome after CABG is dependent on myocardial preservation and prevention of further myocardial ischemia. The largest number of ST-T-wave events come immediately after protamine is given, suggesting that re-establishment of coagulation function after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) may be an important event. CPB induces an inflammatory state that involves platelet-endothelial-cell interactions and vasospastic responses that result in low flow states in the coronary vasculature. The fibrinolytic system is activated during CPB, with raised tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) levels and related falls in plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1). PAI-1 levels rise during the postoperative period. There is a huge variability in human response. However, the patients with the highest tPA surge are not the same patients who have the highest PAI surge. It could be postulated that patients with high PAI-1 levels are at highest risk for early ischemia. New data just being evaluated from the Multicenter Study of Perioperative Ischemia (McSPI) Research Groups' database in San Francisco may support the hypothesis that coagulation influences perioperative ischemia. The study of approximately 2,400 patients undergoing CABG surgery at 24 major institutions in the United States revealed that intensive care unit (ICU) entry hematocrit was significantly related to the risk for postoperative MI. Patients entering the ICU with hematocrits below 24% had the lowest MI rate (3.7%), whereas those with hematocrits greater than 34% had the highest rate (8.1%). Patients with ICU entry hematocrits below 18% had a zero incidence of perioperative MI. One possible explanation for these findings is that platelets are involved. As red cells stream down vessels, they marginate the smaller formed elements of the blood. As hematocrit is increased, the number of platelets moved to the outer sides of the vessels increases. Therefore, the number of endothelial-platelet interactions would increase over time with higher hematocrits.