[The functional characteristics of the thrombocytes in patients with hypertension and "silent" myocardial ischemia].
Functional platelet characteristics were studied in hypertensive subjects having episodes of silent myocardial ischemia. A total of 36 patients with essential hypertension (EH) stage II (WHO criteria, 1979) underwent echocardiography and 24-h ECG monitoring. Platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate was assessed by laser aggregation analyzer. It is demonstrated that platelet aggregation in EH patients with silent ischemia was increased 5-fold as compared to healthy subjects and 2-fold versus EH patients without ischemia. No significant differences existed between the two groups by such parameters as systolic or diastolic pressure and left ventricular myocardial mass. An involvement of elevated platelet aggregation can be suggested in the genesis of coronary insufficiency in EH associated with episodes of silent myocardial ischemia.