Blood hypercoagulability and systemic inflammation in horses with heaves.

Summary

Equine recurrent airway obstruction (heaves) involves more than just airway inflammation; Leclere and colleagues used thrombelastography to investigate whether affected horses develop a hypercoagulable state that might perpetuate the condition. Comparing blood coagulation profiles in heaves-affected and control horses across two phases—acute exacerbation (housed indoors on hay) and clinical remission (following 4+ weeks in a low-dust environment)—the researchers found that affected horses demonstrated significantly greater maximum amplitude on thrombelastography and higher functional fibrinogen levels during exacerbation, with persistent coagulation abnormalities (increased maximum amplitude) remaining evident even during remission. These findings suggest that pulmonary inflammation in heaves triggers a systemic hypercoagulable state, which may not fully resolve with environmental management and could contribute to ongoing airway dysfunction through a cycle of inflammation and microthrombus formation. For practitioners, this implies that managing heaves requires sustained attention to environmental control and raises the possibility that anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy might merit investigation as an adjunct to conventional treatment in severe or refractory cases.

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Key Findings

• •Heaves-affected horses in exacerbation showed greater maximum amplitude on thrombelastography and higher functional fibrinogen compared to controls
• •Heaves-affected horses in clinical remission maintained greater maximum amplitude than controls, indicating persistent hypercoagulability
• •Systemic inflammation and hypercoagulable state in heaves may result from pulmonary inflammation and perpetuate airway dysfunction

Conditions Studied

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