The incidence of thromboembolism and the hemocoagulative background in patients with rheumatic heart disease.

We discussed the existence of a thrombotic tendency and the relationship between the high incidence of thromboembolism and the thrombotic tendency in patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The augmentation of platelet function was detected in all kinds of rheumatic valvular disease from the finding of high values of plasma beta-thromboglobulin (72 ng/ml, normal 29 ng/ml). The existence of hypercoagulation was also detected in patients with mitral stenosis by showing low levels of plasma antithrombin III (AT III), while fibrinolytic reaction remained normal. The degree of hypercoagulation became augmented in the order of cases of mitral stenosis (MS) complicated by both atrial fibrillation and chronic congestive heart failure, MS complicated only atrial fibrillation and MS with normal sinus rhythm (AT III: 19.6, 25.0, 26.7 mg/dl, respectively). On the contrary, hypercoagulation, the degree of which was almost the same as that in the respective MS groups, also existed in comparable controls of non-RHD, accompanied by the acceleration of fibrinolytic reaction as shown by the decrease in activity of plasma alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor. Therefore, it was concluded that thrombotic tendency certainly existed in patients with MS compared to those with non RHD and that it was one of the causes of the significantly high incidence of thromboembolism in comparison with non RHD.