[Various aspects of blood platelet function of patients who have sustained an ischemic stroke or myocardial infarct and of their relatives].

The authors examined the functional properties of platelets (adhesion, serotonin content and its absorption by the cells) in patients with atherosclerosis who had suffered an ischemic stroke or myocardial infarction, as well as in their relatives and in healthy subjects (control). All the patients were comparable as to the age. In the atherosclerotic patients distinct disturbances of the platelet functional properties were revealed. These disturbances consisted in an increase of the adhesive-aggregation activity of the platelets and a lowering of the serotonin absorption by them. Similar disturbances were revealed in the relatives of the atherosclerotic patients including those who were phenotypically healthy. The data obtained made it possible to conclude that the above disturbances of platelet function were, probably, genetically predetermined, and created an inclination to thrombogenic processes in persons with aggravated heredity as regards atherosclerosis.