Abstract

Blood viscosity was measured at different shear rates using a rotational viscometer, and the correlation between blood viscosity and blood haemoglobin concentration was studied. In 10 healthy controls correlation coefficients were: 0,966 at shear rate 40,0 s^-1, 0,931 at 19,6 s^-l, 0,817 at  2,3 s^-1 and 0,816 at 0,8 s^-l , p<0,01 to p < 0,001. The regression lines for these relationships were then applied to the patient groups to calculate what blood viscosity should be predicted solely from the individual haemoglobin concentration, "predicted blood viscosity". In 34 patients with cardiovascular diseases (20 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), 8 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and 6 patients with primary pulmonary hypertension) the correlation between blood viscosity and haemoglobin concentration was less good, for the total patient material 0,748 to 0,613, p < 0,001 at all shear rates, and for the CAD patients 0,664 to 0,428, p < 0,05 at 3 out of 4 shear rates. Apparently the poorer correlation in the patients was due to a larger influence from factors unrelated to haemoglobin concentration/haematocrit, as the quotients between individually measured and predicted blood viscosity correlated with measured blood viscosity when the haematocrit factor had been eliminated by in vitro standardisation of sample haematocrits to 45%.

Key words:  Blood viscosity;  Haemorheology; Haemoglobin concentration; Microcirculation.