The difference between blood lipids and blood viscosity

As the three highs are now being paid more attention by the public and the number of people suffering from the three highs is increasing, various blood indicators are being paid attention to by people. However, it is inevitable that many people are confused about some indicators. For example, the most commonly encountered are blood lipids and blood viscosity. These two indicators are usually considered the same by people, but they are somewhat different. The following editor will explain the difference between the two to you in simple terms.

Blood viscosity is the abbreviation of blood viscosity, which is one of the indicators of blood viscosity. Blood viscosity is the ratio of the shear force to the gas change rate when the blood flows. It is usually measured by a blood viscometer. Blood viscosity is the most important and basic physiological parameter of blood rheology. It can understand the comprehensive impact on blood viscosity from the overall level. Once the blood viscosity increases, it may indicate that the body is in a pathological state of no or with blood viscosity, that is, hyperviscosity or hyperviscosity syndrome. Factors affecting blood viscosity include red blood cell aggregation and degeneration, the size and shape of red blood cell hematocrit, and the content of blood lipids in the blood. Therefore, blood lipids are an indicator affecting blood viscosity, but if there is an abnormality in blood viscosity, it does not always mean abnormal blood lipids.

Blood lipids are the general term for neutral fats (triglycerides and cholesterol) and lipids (phospholipids, glycolipids, sterols, steroids) in plasma, and are widely present in the human body. They are essential substances for the basic metabolism of living cells.

Generally speaking, the main components of blood lipids are triglycerides and cholesterol. Triglycerides are involved in energy metabolism in the human body, while cholesterol is mainly used to synthesize cell membranes, steroid hormones and bile acids. Since increased plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels are related to the occurrence of atherosclerosis, these two items become key items in blood lipid determination.