Disorders of blood viscosity

Area of Science:

• Haemorheology and clinical haemorheology, focusing on blood flow and deformation behavior.

Background:

• Clinical focus often prioritizes cardiovascular performance over blood flow properties.
• Emerging evidence highlights the importance of blood flow characteristics in various pathophysiologic states.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review key aspects of clinical haemorheology.
• To discuss determinants of blood flow properties.
• To describe clinical disorders linked to abnormal rheology.

Main Methods:

• Literature review summarizing salient aspects of clinical haemorheology.
• Discussion of factors influencing blood flow properties (flow rate, hematocrit, plasma viscosity, red cell aggregation, red cell deformability).
• Brief description of clinical disorders associated with abnormal rheology.

Main Results:

• Haemorheology studies the flow and deformation of blood components.
• Clinical haemorheology addresses alterations in pathophysiologic states.
• Abnormal blood rheology is linked to specific clinical disorders.

Conclusions:

• Clinical haemorheology is an evolving field crucial for understanding disturbed blood flow.
• Factors like hematocrit and red cell deformability significantly impact blood flow.
• Hyperviscosity syndromes in conditions like polycythaemia and leukaemia are associated with abnormal rheology.