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Elevated coronary whole blood viscosity in acute coronary syndrome patients

Sang-Rok Lee1, Jin-Mu Jung, Lae-Young Jung

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, South Korea.

Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation
|March 1, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Whole blood viscosity (WBV) in coronary arteries was higher in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients compared to non-ACS patients. Direct coronary artery WBV measurements did not differ from peripheral samples.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Hemodynamics
  • Diagnostic Cardiology

Background:

  • Whole blood viscosity (WBV) is typically measured from peripheral blood samples.
  • Potential differences in WBV within the coronary arteries are often overlooked in clinical studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate differences in WBV measured directly from coronary artery specimens in patients with and without acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Main Methods:

  • Blood samples were collected from coronary artery ostia of patients undergoing angiography.
  • Low-shear (1 s-1) and high-shear (300 s-1) blood viscosities were measured using a scanning capillary tube viscometer.
  • Patients were categorized into non-ACS (n=16) and ACS (n=22) groups.

Main Results:

  • Coronary artery WBV did not differ between peripheral, left, and right coronary arteries within either group.
  • Mean coronary low-shear WBV was 29.2% higher in the ACS group (295.3 mP) versus the non-ACS group (228.5 mP) (p=0.016).
  • Mean coronary high-shear WBV was 15.6% higher in the ACS group (42.9 mP) versus the non-ACS group (37.1 mP) (p=0.036).

Conclusions:

  • Directly measured coronary artery WBV showed no difference compared to peripheral samples.
  • Elevated coronary WBV was observed in patients with ACS.
  • Larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.
Abstract

Keywords:
Acute coronary syndromeblood viscositycoronary vesselswall shear stress

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