Post-exercise alcohol ingestion perturbs blood haemostasis during recovery

It is known that exercise induces modification in blood haemostasis. It is, however, not known whether alcohol consumption post-exercise influences th ese modifications during recovery. Eleven moderately active young men were studied immediately after a standardised cycle ergometer test and during th e 24-hour period of recovery. Alcohol (0.7 g/kg body mass) was given 1 hour after exercise on one test occasion, while an equal volume of alcohol-free solution was administered on the other. Exercise induced a significant inc rease in factor VIII activity with a significant shortening of activated pa rtial thromboplastin time. Parallel increases in tissue plasminogen activit y and antigen with a concomitant decrease in tissue plasminogen activator i nhibitor-1 activity were also observed after exercise. During recovery, whi le the increase in factor VIII activity post-exercise persisted in both tri als. fibrinolytic activity demonstrated a sharp fall. The elevated factor V III activity was significantly higher at 5 and 22 hours during the alcohol trial compared with the control. Although no demonstrable effect of alcohol on tissue plasminogen activator activity was present from 1 hour after ing estion onward, tissue plasminogen activator antigen and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen increased significantly 22 hours following al cohol ingestion. Further comparison between trials revealed a higher plasmi nogen activator inhibitor-1 activity 5 hours after alcohol ingestion. In co nclusion, exercise-induced changes to blood haemostasis are balanced during exercise but not during recovery. Alcohol consumption after physical exerc ise further perturbs blood haemostasis and could constitute a thrombotic ri sk. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.