Repeated inspiratory occlusions in anesthetized rats acutely increase blood coagulability as assessed by thromboelastography

Many of the components contributing to coagulability are enhanced by repeated episodes of hypoxia, as occurs in obstructive sleep apnea, but no one has yet measured the global hemostatic properties of blood in an animal model of this disease. Using thromboelastography, a hemostatic assay, we measured hemostasis in six pentobarbital-anesthetized rats before and after 3 h of repeated inspiratory occlusions lasting 30 s applied every 2 min and compared the results to those in six identically prepared rats before and after 3 h of resting breathing. Rats subjected to occlusions displayed faster onset of clotting (p < 0.031) and more rapid coagulation (p < 0.031). Thus, repeated inspiratory occlusions acutely cause hypercoagulability in rats. Thromboelastography, a simple test of hemostasis, may help evaluate the factors responsible for this increase and, in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, the risk of future cardiovascular disease.