A study of the fibrinolytic response in healthy men and women following a brief exposure to venous occlusion

Abstract

In this study, 176 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 25 yrs were tested for fibrinolytic activity before and after a 5 min period of venous occlusion (VO) at 100 mm Hg. Using this protocol, 140 demonstrated an increase in fibrin plate lysis following this brief period of venous occlusion and were classified as “Responders.” There were 36 individuals in the study who showed either a decrease or no change in fibrin plate lysis after 5 min of venous occlusion and they were classified as “Non-Responders.” Responders showed a decrease in PAI-1 following VO. However, neither Responders nor Non-Responders demonstrated any significant differences in the levels of plasminogen, antiplasmin, protein C, free t-PA, or total t-PA following this brief exposure to venous occlusion. When comparing women and men in this study, women had significantly greater fibrin plate lysis both before and after 5 min of VO. They also demonstrated higher pre- and post-VO levels of circulating plasminogen. Also, women had less PAI-1 pre- and post-VO than men. When examining Responders and Non-Responders according to gender, women who were Responders had significantly greater fibrin plate lysis before and after VO than male Responders. Also, women Responders demonstrated a significant decrease in PAI-1 following 5 min of VO when compared to men who were Responders in this study.