[Blood rheologic properties in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy]

Rheologic blood parameters--fluidity limit tau 0, viscosity n alpha 1, erythrocyte cohesion coefficient (A), hematocrit--were studied in 42 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 30 patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and heart failure of stages I-III. Rheologic parameters tended to increase along with progression of heart failure while in IHD an opposite tendency was observed. Individual analysis in patients with DCM as well as those with IHD demonstrated, irrespectively of the stage of heart failure, both hyper- and hyporheological syndromes. Occurrence of thromboembolic complications was in both cases nearly the same (42.9% and 40%, correspondingly). The data obtained indicate at evident abnormality of rheologic blood parameters in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy progressing along with development of heart failure and suggest its possible role in intravascular thrombi formation.