Coronary Occlusion Treated With Small Doses of Heparin

Abstract In common antithrombotic therapy the dosage of heparin is kept at a certain level based on prolongation of in vitro coagulation time. However, considerably lower doses have been reported to have effect in long‐term treatment of coronary heart disease. In order to investigate the effect of similar low doses in patients with acute coronary occlusion a double‐blind trial was undertaken, in which the death rates of patients treated with heparin for 24 days at a dosage of 10,000 units subcutaneously, twice daily for the first 16 days, and subsequently once daily, was compared with a placebo‐treated group. Thirty‐two per cent of 103 heparin‐treated patients died compared with 41.3% of 109 in the placebo group. This difference is not statistically significant. Thrombo‐embolic complications were, however, significantly less frequent in the treated group and it is concluded that the therapeutic experiment should be continued.