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Hyperviscosity syndrome is a group of symptoms triggered by an increase in the viscosity of the blood.Symptoms of high blood viscosity include spontaneous bleeding from mucous membranes, visual disturbances due to retinopathy, and neurologic symptoms ranging from headache and vertigo to seizures and coma.
Blood viscosity is a measure of the resistance of blood to flow. It can also be described as the thickness and stickiness of blood. This biophysical property makes it a critical determinant of friction against the vessel walls, the rate of venous return, the work required for the heart to pump blood, and how much oxygen is transported to tissues and organs.
η(δ) = viscosity of blood in the wall plasma release-cell layering; r = radius of the blood vessel; δ = distance in the plasma release-cell layer; Blood resistance varies depending on blood viscosity and its plugged flow (or sheath flow since they are complementary across the vessel section) size as well, and on the size of the vessels.
An increased number of red blood cells (polycythemia) causes reduced ESR as blood viscosity increases. Hemoglobinopathy such as sickle-cell disease can have low ESR due to an improper shape of red blood cells that impairs stacking.
When hematocrit levels are lower than that percentage, the MAP decreases in response, which may be due, in part, to the increase in viscosity and the decrease in plasma layer width. [21] Furthermore, affected individuals may have other associated conditions alongside high blood pressure, including formation of blood clots.
Lowered hematocrit levels also pose health impacts. These causes and impacts have been reported: A low hematocrit level is a sign of a low red blood cell count. One way to increase the ability of oxygen transport in red blood cells is through blood transfusion, which is carried out typically when the red blood cell count is low.
Erythrocyte deformability is an important determinant of blood viscosity, hence blood flow resistance in the vascular system. [3] It affects blood flow in large blood vessels, due to the increased frictional resistance between fluid laminae under laminar flow conditions.
Cryoglobulins cause tissue damage by three mechanisms; they can: [citation needed] a) increase blood viscosity thereby reducing blood flow to tissues to cause the hyperviscosity syndrome (i.e., headache, confusion, blurry or loss of vision, hearing loss, and epistaxis (nose bleeds);