Unfractionated heparin reverses aspirin inhibition of platelets during coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

ABSTRACT: Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is an effective antithrombotic during surgery but has known adverse effects, in particular on platelets. A marked increase in platelet responsiveness has previously been observed in patients within minutes of receiving UFH, despite adequate inhibition by aspirin prior to heparin. We studied this phenomenon in patients undergoing cardiac artery bypass grafting (n = 17) to determine whether the effects of heparin were systemic or platelet-specific. All patients' platelets were fully inhibited by aspirin prior to surgery, but within 3 min of receiving heparin spontaneous aggregation and responses to arachidonic acid (AA) and ADP increased significantly (p ≥ 0.0002), and activated platelets were found in the circulation. While there was no rise in thromboxane in th

SUBMITTER: Turnbull RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11015001 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature