High hematocrit value is a risk factor for myocardial infarction

[dragonfire101]

High hematocrit value is a risk factor for myocardial infarction

To the Editor:

I read with interest the article on the positive correlation between the hematocrit value and the frequency of myocardial infarction (MI) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) by Spiess and associates. 1 That a high hematocrit value was associated with an increased risk for MI has been known since the early 1960s. 2-6 George Burch, who wrote numerous articles on this subject,26 advocated bloodletting in patients with coronary artery disease with a high hematocrit value. 7 He showed that the clinical state of these patients definitely improved when their hematocrit was reduced to "average normal" levels. 6-8
Burch 8 wondered why bloodletting was rarely used as a therapeutic measure for these patients. It might be appropriate to quote what Burch said in 1979:
It is well known that a high hematocrit is associated with high viscosity and that a highly viscous fluid requires more work of the pump to circulate it than does a less viscous liquid. Furthermore, the flow of highly viscous fluid is reduced, even with all else being equal. Nevertheless, physicians fail to bleed patients with active coronary disease and myocardial ischemia, whose hematocrit is high and whose blood viscosity is increased. It has been shown that bloodletting in patients with ischemic heart disease definitely improved the clinical state of these patients when their hematocrit was reduced to average normal levels....
Could it be that the procedure is rarely used because it appears to be "old-fashioned," "antique," and not "modern"? If the concept is good and the clinical results often dramatic, why not use it? Just because "bloodletting" is a procedure of the old days and one that was misused, this does not justify not using it today.
Some old things are good. Antiques are desirable and appreciated and antiquities are even more precious and valuable. People by the millions visit the King Tut exhibit—including doctors. But, the King Tut exhibit is not modern. That which is good or useful must be preserved—even bloodletting for definite clinical indications, such as with angina pectoris and other types of ischemic heart disease.*
I propose that CABG is simply a more elegant and more sophisticated method of bloodletting. The finding by Spiess and associates 1 in their study of 2202 patients that a low hematocrit value (less than 24%) at the conclusion of CABG protects against Q-wave MI is a modern proof of what Burch predicted 36 years ago.
Tsung O. Cheng MD
Professor of Medicine
The George Washington University Medical Center
Washington, DC 20037

 

[dragonfire101]

Blood Viscosity Explored as Potential Factor in Heart Disease

(NewsUSA) - You wouldn't drive your car for 30 years without checking its oil for viscosity breakdown, so why would you do that to the blood in your body?
That's an analogy that Daniel Cho sometimes poses for people concerned about heart disease, as the president and chief operating officer of Rheologics Technologies, a company that studies blood viscosity and develops technology for measuring and treating it.

According to Cho, blood viscosity - the thickness of blood - is one of the most overlooked causes of heart disease. When blood is thicker than it should be, Cho says that the heart must work harder to pump it through the body, and the large arteries close to the heart are damaged by the wear and tear of thick blood. This, in turn, causes arteries to harden, thicken and form blockages that result in heart attacks and strokes.

A number of studies have connected high blood viscosity with heart disease, Cho says, and there is enough evidence to support further research. The "Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide," for instance, cites one European study in which people with thicker blood were more likely to develop heart disease over an eight-year period.

But despite these findings, public awareness of the potential dangers of high blood viscosity still remains relatively low. Cho and other officials at Rheologics, however, have made it their mission to further the development and commercialization of medical technologies and diagnoses focused on blood viscosity.
They conduct clinical studies and provide lab services that measure how thick or thin a patient's blood is. The measurements are first reviewed by a hematologist or cardiologist and then sent to the patient's own physician. Blood samples are collected using the same Vacutainer tube used for cholesterol testing.

With ongoing research and partnerships with schools such as Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, Cho and researchers at Rheologics believe that treating blood viscosity is the missing link to more effective treatment of cardiovascular disease. As public awareness grows and blood viscosity tests become more accurate, a heart that runs like a well-oiled machine may not be out of reach for millions of people affected by heart disease.

 

[dragonfire101]

Article: High Hematocrit Levels Tied to Cardiovascular Risk.
Family Practice News

JULY 15 2000

Elevated hematocrit correlates strongly with many other independent cardiovascular risk factors and appears to be an early sign of increased risk of heart disease, Dr. Shawna D. Nesbitt said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

New bigenerational data from the ongoing Tecumseh Blood Pressure Study in-dicate that the association between high hematocrit and cardiovascular risk, which has been observed in adults by several different research teams worldwide, also holds in children and adolescents.

 

[Nutsax]

Good post!

I have recently had a blood test and my HCT level was 54%. I don't think most on gear have blood work done or they would see this also. Mine is from running a cycle , pct the right back on. My Doc wants me to stay off for 120 days so the level will drop then re-test.