Affiliations: Laboratoire de Pharmacocinétique Clinique, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Montpellier I, France | Service Central de Physiologie Clinique, Centre d'Exploration et de Réadaptation des Anomalies du Métabolisme Musculaire (CERAMM), CHU Lapeyronie, Montpellier, France | Service de Médecine B Angiologie, CHU Saint Eloi, Montpellier, France
Note: [] E. V‐M. and A.G. have equally contributed to this work and should both be considered as first authors.
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr J.F. Brun, MD, PhD, Service Central de Physiologie Clinique, Centre d'Exploration et de Réadaptation des Anomalies du Métabolisme Musculaire (CERAMM), CHU Lapeyronie 34295 Montpellier‐cédex 5, France. Tel.: +33 (0)4 67 33 82 84; Fax: +33 (0)4 67 33 59 23; Telex: CHR MONTP 480 766 F; E‐mail: drjfbrun.@aol.com.
Abstract: Exercise‐induced impairment in blood fluidity has been supposed to increase cardiovascular risk but there is no data to support this hypothesis. We report the case of a 50 yr old marathon runner who underwent a central retinal vein thrombosis after a marathon run. We investigated his rheological response to exercise compared to control subjects of previous studies. During a standardized sub‐maximal exercise‐test, the increase in blood viscosity (+28%) and hematocrit (+25%) exceeded the control range but the most striking differences were found for red cell aggregation (Myrenne +47%) and disaggregation thresholds (Affibio +37%). Although some of this post‐exercise hyperviscosity pattern may be due to the previous vascular event, these findings may also support the hypothesis of a role for hemorheological alterations during exercise in the pathogenesis of this marathon‐induced retinal thrombosis, and indicate that after such an event hemorheological adaptation to exercise remains markedly disturbed.
Keywords: Blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, exercise, hemorheology, retinal vein occlusion, case report, eye injuries, human, male
