Hemorheology and Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Summary
Hemorheology examines the flow behaviour of blood and its cellular components, integrating the effects of plasma viscosity, red blood cell deformability and aggregation, and shear‐dependent resistance within the microcirculation. Alterations in these parameters are increasingly recognised as both markers and mediators of cardiovascular risk. Elevated whole‐blood viscosity, often driven by high haematocrit, hyperfibrinogenaemia or enhanced erythrocyte rigidity, raises vascular resistance and promotes disturbed shear stress, favouring endothelial dysfunction and atherothrombotic events. Impaired red blood cell deformability reduces capillary perfusion, contributing to tissue ischaemia, insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation. Risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, obesity, ageing and smoking amplify haemorrheological abnormalities, whereas adaptive increases in blood pressure may transiently preserve organ perfusion in conditions of hyperviscosity. Understanding these interlinked processes offers insight into disease progression and highlights potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
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Hemorheology and Cardiovascular Risk Factors publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in hemorheology and cardiovascular risk factors across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Blood viscosity: a measure of the internal friction of blood, influenced by plasma proteins, haematocrit and red blood cell properties.
Shear rate: the rate at which adjacent layers of blood move relative to one another, critical for determining viscosity under flow conditions.
Red blood cell deformability: the ability of erythrocytes to change shape to navigate narrow capillaries, essential for optimal microvascular perfusion.
Aggregation: the reversible clumping of red blood cells under low‐flow conditions, which increases apparent blood viscosity.
Endothelial dysfunction: impaired vasodilatory and antithrombotic functions of the vascular lining, often an early step in atherogenesis.
Atherothrombosis: the formation of thrombi on disrupted atherosclerotic plaques, precipitating acute vascular events such as myocardial infarction and stroke.
References
- Mendelian randomization study of whole blood viscosity and cardiovascular diseases. PLOS ONE (2024).
- Sex-related differences in endothelial function and blood viscosity in the elderly population. Frontiers in Physiology (2023).
- Higher systolic blood pressure is specifically associated with better islet beta-cell function in T2DM patients with high glycemic level. Cardiovascular Diabetology (2022).
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