Coagulability of arterial and venous blood in healthy subjects, patients with coronary atherosclerosis, and patients with rheumatic cardiopathies.

Coagulability of arterial and venous blood was studied in 50 healthy subjects and in 179 patients with circulation disturbances caused by coronary atherosclerosis and rheumatic cardiopathies. All indicators characterizing the individual haemocoagulation phases were respected. In the healthy subjects the coagulative and fibrinolytic activities of venous blood were higher than those of arterial blood. In the patients with heart failure the coagulability of venous blood decreased and that of arterial blood increased. These phenomena were accompanied by fibrinogenaemia, appearance of fibrinogen B in the blood, elevation of free heparin, and inhibition, but occasional activation, of fibrinolysis in both vascular systems. The findings seem to signalize enhanced intravascular blood coagulability in patients with circulation disturbances, which phenomenon has to be taken into account in the treatment of such patients.