Effect of Mental Stress on the Fibrinolytic Reactivity to Exercise

Abstract

The fibrinolytic response to a moderate exercise procedure was studied in five student volunteers before, during, and after a degree examination, and in five age-matched unstressed controls. It was demonstrated that mental stress may have a marked deleterious effect on the production of plasminogen activator to exercise. The relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to the aetiology of atherosclerosis and/or thrombosis and the physiological control of the fibrinolytic enzyme system. We wish to express our thanks to the long-suffering volunteers; to Dr. R. A. Cumming, Director of the South-east Scotland Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, for help and encouragement; and to Professor K. W. Donald, University Department of Medicine, for the generous provision of treadmill facilities. This research programme was supported by a grant from the Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust. © 1967, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.