Hypercoagulable states in arterial thromboembolism

Hypercoagulable states are disorders of blood coagulation, which include deficiencies of natural anticoagulants, disorders of the fibrinolytic system, presence of antiphospholipid antibody and abnormalities of platelet function. These disorders are well known causes of venous thromboembolic disease and are being recognized in association with arterial thromboembolic occurrences with increasing frequency. The performance of standard prosthetic vascular reconstructions may result in disastrous outcomes in patients with unrecognized and untreated hypercoagulable states. From 1986 to 1990, we identified 12 patients with hypercoagulable states, six of whom presented with evidence of arterial thromboembolism. All of the patients were men who smoked and were somewhat younger than the usual patient with atherosclerosis. Their ages ranged from 41 to 62 years. Four patients presented with ischemic rest pain, one patient with blue toe syndrome and one with rapidly progressive claudication. Four patients had undergone prior vascular reconstruction and two had previous pulmonary emboli. Evaluation of these patients to identify hypercoagulability included determinations of prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT), platelet count, antithrombin III, protein C, free protein S and total protein S levels, along with platelet aggregometry. Two patients had protein S deficiency, one had protein C deficiency, one patient had protein C and S deficiency and two patients had hyperaggregable platelets. Four patients had prosthetic reconstructions and two had autogenous reconstructions. Three of the four patients undergoing prosthetic reconstructions had subsequent loss of limb and one patient died. Only one patient with prosthetic reconstruction had a patent graft on long term anticoagulation. Both patients undergoing autogenous procedures had successful revascularization with limb salvage.