Of the 127 patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke, 63 patients were included in the final analyses. The temporal profiles of blood viscosity at the onset of stroke and follow-up at 1 and 5 weeks were investigated. Correlations between blood viscosity and acute stroke etiology or chronic radiological manifestations of cerebral small vessel disease were investigated. Whole blood viscosities at a low or high shear rate were measured using a scanning capillary tube viscometer, and were referred to as diastolic blood viscosity (DBV) and systolic blood viscosity (SBV), respectively.
We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke.
We investigated how blood viscosity is associated with acute stroke and chronic radiological manifestations of cerebral small vessel disease, and how blood viscosity changes after stroke. "We are currently investigating the effects of therapeutic heparin to reduce the risk of complications during acute COVID-19 infections, which may greatly benefit those with high blood viscosity.Increased level of blood viscosity, which is one of the major factors that determine blood rheology, has been reported as a risk factor or predictor for cerebrovascular events. Results can help determine the best treatment course for at-risk patients and help improve outcomes," says Robert Rosenson, MD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of Cardiometabolic Disorders for the Mount Sinai Health System. "This study demonstrates the importance of checking for blood viscosity in COVID-19 patients early in hospital admission, which is easily obtained through routine lab work. When the blood viscosity is high, physicians may consider therapeutic heparin for patients, hydration, or intensification of glucocorticoids to lessen the severity of the acute phase response to COVID-19. Blood viscosity is an integrated measure of these acute phase reactants and the cellular components that can increase during infection. The study found that hospitalized patients who had high blood viscosity had a 60 percent higher death rate with blood viscosity measured under high flow conditions such as the arteries and 32 percent higher mortality with blood viscosity measured at low flow such as the microcirculation (blood circulation in the smallest vessels), than patients with a low blood viscosity.īlood viscosity is elevated by acute phase reactants (fibrinogen, macroglobulins) that have been associated with acute COVID-19 infections. All had clinical and laboratory-verified diagnoses of COVID 19 and were identified within 48 hours of hospitalization and followed until hospital discharge or death. Researchers looked at records of 5,621 COVID-19 patients from six hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System between February 27, 2020, and November 27, 2021. This is an easy calculation that could be added to electronic medical records or lab forms and can improve chances for survival in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In this study, the estimate of blood viscosity was more strongly associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients than other commonly used risk stratification measures. A validated estimate of blood viscosity can be derived from the hematocrit and globulins. This measure of blood thickness can be used as a predictor of mortality.ĭoctors typically measure hematocrit and globulins (difference between total protein and albumin) in all patients for diagnosis and monitoring treatment of hospitalized patients however, they do not measure blood viscosity directly.
High blood viscosity impairs flow to small vessels and increases the risk of blood clots. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with high estimated blood viscosity are at higher risk of death from complications.
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