Lack of elevation of beta-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4 in plasma during exercise in patients with chronic peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

We investigated the behavior of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF 4) during exercise--upright bicycle ergometry--in 30 patients (median age, 62.4 years) with arteriographically proven peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) in a chronic stable phase. In 15 patients the exercise study was done twice; the second time was concurrent with administration of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in a dosage of 1.0 g/day, while the first time was without ASA therapy. There were no significant differences in either the group of patients with or that without ASA with regard to the platelet-specific proteins at rest, immediately after, and 30 min after exercise. Blood collected simultaneously (n = 6) from an arm vein and from a femoral artery and femoral vein also revealed no significant differences. Our findings support the conclusion that exercise-induced peripheral ischemia with severe symptoms of claudication does not produce platelet alpha-granule release.