High Blood Viscosity in Metabolic Syndrome Women

Abstract

Coronary arterial disease (CAD) with subsequent myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the major causes of death among menopausal women. CAD is characterized by atherosclerotic thrombosis at bifurcations and curved arterial vessels. Both endothelial cell injury and plaque rupture are primarily dictated by shear stress. Since the shear stress is determined by the product of whole blood viscosity (WBV) and shear rate, the present study attempted to compare WBVs in adult women with and without metabolic syndrome (MS). 69 women around menopausal age were enrolled and divided into two groups: group I = without MS (n=26, 50.3±2.8 y); group II = with MS (n=43, 53.6±6.3 y). Blood sample of 3 mL was used for WBV measurement by a scanning capillary viscometer (Bio-Visco Inc., Korea). Hematocrit, LDL, HDL, TG, and glucose were also measured. Diastolic WBVs measured at a shear rate of 1 s−1 were higher in group II (240.8±36.8) than those in group I (222.9±33.6 mP, p=0.05). HDL was lower in group II(49.3±9.6) than in group I (59.2±12.4 mg/dL, p=0.0005), whereas LDL, TG, and glucose were greater in group II(134.7±41.6, 127.1±85.8, 107.5±26.1) than in group I (110.3±21.2(p=0.008), 81.7±27.8(p=0.01), 95.7±9.1(p=0.03) mg/dL). A higher diastolic WBV and LDL, and lower HDL among MS women suggest the higher risk of microvascular dysfunction and subsequent MI. Further study should examine the efficacy of correcting these variables in CAD.