A review of the electrocardiograms (ECG) of 108 patients with sickle cell anemia found only 3 with patterns consistent with myocardial infarction. Two of the 3 patients with ECG infarct patterns had postmortem examination confirmation of the infarction. These two patients had no significant coronary atherosclerosis nor did the other six autopsied patients in the present series. Literature reports of postmortem examinations on patients with sickle cell anemia confirm the scarcity of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction in these patients. Forty of the 108 ECGs showed signs of left ventricular hypertrophy and 20 others had nondiagnostic ST and T wave abnormalities. Nine showed first degree AV block and four right bundle branch block.

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Using paper and starch-gel electrophoresis we have demonstrated binding of hemoglobin, myoglobin and hematin by human serum protein which is not a haptoglobin. This protein was present in all sera tested except that from two patients with hemolytic anemia and was also present in serum genetically deficient in haptoglobin. The binding capacity of this protein is low and contributes only slightly to the total hemoglobin binding capacity of normal serum. However, it may represent most or all of the binding in sera from patients with hemolytic disease.