Platelet Survival and Platelet Production in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Thrombokinetic studies were carried out on 26 patients with myocardial infarction (MI) admitted to a coronary care unit in the acute stage during a 2-mo. period. The results were compared with those of an age-matched control group. In the MI patients, platelet mean life-span was 5.0 .+-. 0.3 days and significantly shorter (P < 0.01) than in the controls (6.4 .+-. 0.4 days). The mean platelet production rate for the patients with MI was significantly higher (P < 0.005) than for the controls. Results reported by others and the present data suggest that during the acute phase of MI there is no additional measurable reduction in platelet survival above that observed in chronic coronary artery disease.