Changes in blood coagulability as it traverses the ischemic limb.
Shankar VK., Chaudhury SR., Uthappa MC., Handa A., Hands LJ.
OBJECTIVE: We undertook this study to determine whether changes in blood coagulability associated with peripheral arterial occlusive disease are due to contact with the atherosclerotic arterial wall or passage through distal ischemic tissue. METHODS: Thirty patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease undergoing angiography participated in the study. Ankle-brachial pressure index was recorded before intervention. Blood samples taken from the aorta, common femoral artery, and common femoral vein were analyzed at thromboelastography. Angiograms were scored for stenotic disease by a radiologist blinded to the other results. RESULTS: When femoral artery samples were compared with aortic samples there was a decrease in reaction time (R; P