Blood Rheology Associated with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Chronic Cardiovascular Diseases: Results of an Epidemiologic Cross-sectional Study

As part of an epidemiologic cross- sectional study to determine cardio vascular (CV) risk factors in the population (total serum cholesterol, smoking, blood pressure, and body weight) hemoglobin (Hb) and plasma viscosity (PV) were measured. A two- stage cluster sample of 5,312 persons, aged twenty-five to sixty-four (availa ble 5,069) was selected from a mixed urban-rural target population of 282,279 inhabitants, from which 4,022 (79.3%) participated in the study. Patients with chronic myocar dial infarction (MI), cerebral infarc tion (CI), angina pectoris (AP), and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) were identified by questionnaire. The results show that there is no age or sex dependency of PV in healthy participants, while hemoglo bin shows the well-known sex differ ence. In contrast, PV increases continuously with age in the total population. In men, increased PV is found in untreated hypertension, in hypercholesterolemia, and in smok ers. In women, it is raised in hyper cholesterolemia and in gross obesity. Male MI patients and patients of both sexes after CI in particular show statistically significantly elevated PV. Finally, in male patients with chronic AP or patients of both sexes with PAD, PV is elevated and a tendency to higher Hb values is seen.

These results confirm smaller clinical trials suggesting that blood fluidity is pathologically altered in patients with CV risk factors or dis eases. Since impaired blood fluidity may worsen the hemodynamic situa tion, in particular in patients with limited vasomotor reserve, he morheologic parameters may be of prognostic relevance. Therapeutic implications of these findings should be considered.