10– 12 Total resistance is the product of vascular resistance and viscosity.

5 It is accepted that blood viscosity and resistance to blood flow are related and are elevated in patients who have hypertension. 9 Conditions that reduce RBC surface charge correlate with occlusive arterial disease because of a higher incidence of RBC aggregation. A higher repulsive surface charge increases spacing between erythrocytes, reduces clumping, lowers viscosity, and lowers peripheral resistance to flow. 4– 8 This is because blood viscosity is strongly influenced by the RBC surface charge that governs the spacing between erythrocytes. In spite of this complexity, measurement of the electrophoretic mobility or zeta potential of red blood cells (RBCs) is a simple method for measuring blood viscosity. 3 From the perspective of the health care practitioner, it is essential to have a better understanding of the relationships between other well-documented factors in CVD, including blood viscosity, blood pressure (BP), peripheral resistance, coagulation, left-ventricular hypertrophy, and inflammation.īlood is a complex fluid containing a variety of formed elements (cells), proteins, nutrients, and metabolic waste products, along with dozens of clotting factors. Cardiologists are gradually losing interest in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol as the major cardiovascular risk factor. Blood viscosity and aggregation are major factors in hypertension and other cardiovascular pathologies, including myocardial infarction. 2 Interventions that reduce the incidence of CVD are therefore of profound importance.

The latest statistics (2009) for the United States show that CVD is the leading cause of death for persons age 65 and over. C ardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death worldwide.

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