What is blood rheology tested for?

In daily life, as we age, various diseases will come knocking on our door. Common diseases include heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, etc. Therefore, when you get older, you should go to the hospital for physical examinations on time to rule out various diseases or prevent various diseases in time. Blood rheology examination is a common method of physical examination. Some people are suitable for blood rheology examination, while others are not.

Effect of blood rheology examination: Blood rheology can monitor the presence of risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and thrombosis. Suitable population for blood rheology examination: Suitable population for blood rheology examination mainly includes middle-aged and elderly people, high-pressure office workers, people who engage in heavy physical labor for a long time, overweight people, and people with hereditary heart disease and coronary heart disease.

Blood rheology examination items:

1) Reflects the blood viscosity - hematocrit: It reflects the ratio between blood cells and plasma in the blood. An increased hematocrit means that the blood is thick and viscous, which is seen in polycythemia in addition to cerebrovascular disease; a decreased hematocrit means that the blood is thinner and the viscosity of the whole blood also decreases accordingly, which means that the body is losing blood or has anemia.

2) Reflects blood viscosity - whole blood viscosity: Whole blood viscosity changes with changes in hematocrit. Generally speaking, the higher the hematocrit, the higher the whole blood viscosity. Increased whole blood viscosity indicates increased hematocrit or plasma viscosity, increased red blood cell aggregation, poor red blood cell deformability or elasticity, and hardened and rough blood vessel walls. Its increase is common in the following diseases, such as cerebrovascular disease, polycythemia, coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, chronic bronchitis, vasculitis, cor pulmonale, active connective tissue disease, chain hemoglobinemia, leukemia, etc.

3) Reflects the aggregation of blood cells - red blood cell electrophoresis time: the shorter the time, the more the red blood cell surface charge, the more dispersed the red blood cells are, and the less aggregation; conversely, if the time is longer, it reflects that the surface charge is less, the red blood cells tend to aggregate, and the red blood cells form strings and piles, which increases the viscosity of the whole blood.