ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the rheological aspects of four common circulatory problems of interest to the general clinician: hypertension; circulatory shock; venous thromboembolism; and occlusive arterial disease, especially ischemic heart disease. Heart attacks and strokes are the major cardiovascular causes of death and disability in developed countries. In round figures, men with hematocrits of 0.50 or more have about twice the risk of such cardiovascular events compared to men with hematocrits of 0.40 or less; in women, this relative risk may be fourfold. The hyperfibrinogenemia which is strongly predictive of cardiovascular events and is associated with chronic ischemic heart disease and its risk factors may directly contribute to atherogenesis. There is increasing evidence that circulatory disturbances in hypertension, shock, venous thromboembolism, and occlusive arterial disease involve not only changes in cardiac function and vessel diameter, but also changes in blood rheology.
