There is a small signal that there is a big problem with the blood

What is Hyperviscosity?

Hyperviscosity is a clinical pathological syndrome caused by the increase of one or several blood viscosity factors and characterized by abnormal blood rheological parameters. Diseases of many systems can be associated with hyperviscosity.

Why does "hyperviscosity" occur?

The elasticity of the blood vessel walls of middle-aged and elderly people gradually decreases, and the lumen gradually narrows. In addition, the aggregation and deformability of red blood cells may also change with age, so cells tend to stick close to each other, which will cause an increase in blood viscosity, thereby slowing down blood flow and leading to the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. At the same time, the increased blood viscosity in middle-aged and elderly people is related to the increased content of protein (globulin, fibrin) and lipid (triglyceride, cholesterol) in plasma. It has been confirmed that people with hyperlipidemia are prone to increased blood viscosity. In addition, when there are more foreign matter in the blood (such as epithelial cells shed from the inner wall of blood vessels, lipids shed from the walls of attached blood vessels, etc.), fibrin and platelets gather around the foreign matter and wrap them up, which makes it easy to form blood clots and affect the normal circulation of blood and increase the viscosity of the blood.

What are the early "signals" of hyperviscosity?

The discomfort caused by hyperviscosity is not very obvious, and there was no routine test of "blood rheology" in previous health examinations, so it is often ignored. In fact, increased blood viscosity also has its early symptoms, which can be felt by individuals. Generally speaking, if middle-aged and elderly people have the following four symptoms, it means that the blood viscosity in their body may be relatively high, and necessary examinations and treatments should be carried out.

Dizziness in the morning and wakefulness at night

People with high blood viscosity feel dizzy when they get up in the morning, and they do not have the feeling of being clear-headed and having smooth thinking after waking up. After breakfast, the brain gradually becomes clear. I am in the best mental state after dinner.

Feeling sleepy after lunch

Normal people will also feel sleepy after lunch, but they can bear it. People with high blood viscosity will feel sleepy immediately after lunch and need to take a nap. Otherwise, they will feel unwell all over and feel listless throughout the afternoon. If you sleep for a while, your mental state will improve significantly. This is a typical symptom of insufficient blood supply to the brain after lunch for people with high blood viscosity.

Shortness of breath when squatting to work

Most people with high blood viscosity are obese. They have difficulty squatting. Some of them cannot work while squatting at all, or they feel chest tightness and shortness of breath when squatting to work. This is because when people squat, the amount of blood returning to the heart is reduced, and the blood is too viscous, causing ischemia to important organs such as the lungs and brain, leading to difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, etc.

Intermittent blurred vision

Some middle-aged and elderly people have normal eyesight, but often have temporary blurred vision. This is because the blood of people with high blood viscosity cannot fully nourish the optic nerve, causing temporary ischemia and hypoxia of the optic nerve and retina, leading to paroxysmal blurred vision.

What factors can cause increased blood viscosity?

Smoking, drinking, worry, excitement, panic, etc. will increase blood viscosity. Strenuous exercise, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids will also increase blood viscosity. Generally speaking, a person's blood viscosity increases in the morning, reaches its peak at 8 a.m., begins to decline in the afternoon, and is lowest between midnight and 3 a.m.; when the outside temperature is too high, the body will sweat a lot, and when the body has a fever, the body will lose water, which will increase blood viscosity; when it is cold, the increase in urine volume will also increase it.

Blood viscosity also changes during a person's physiological cycle. The blood viscosity of newborns is higher and gradually decreases with age. In adulthood, the blood viscosity of males is slightly higher than that of females, and the blood viscosity of women increases during menstruation.