People who are obese and suffer from metabolic syndrome are at risk of cardiovascular disease and thromboembolic events (such as stroke) due to hypercoagulability. Amy Lovett and others from Oklahoma State University wanted to determine if obese horses with insulin dysregulation were also at risk of altered blood clotting. They selected horses with body condition score of ≥7.5/9 and insulin dysregulation, based on a serum insulin concentration of >45µIU/mL at 60 or 90 minutes after corn syrup. They used a technique called thromboelastrography to determine the rate of clot formation, the strength of the clot and clot stability. Although numbers of horses were relatively small (15 control horses and 15 obese horses) they concluded that obese horses with insulin dysregulation had greater clot strength and stability than healthy horses, consistent with a hypercoagulability. The authors noted that there were differences between the groups with respect to gender and age, which have affected their results.
Thromboelastography in obese horses with insulin dysregulation compared to healthy controls
This paper is open access at the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Tags: Endocrinology; Equine Metabolic Syndrome