Whole blood viscosity in microvascular angina & CAD

This article by EI Cekirdekci and B Bugan improves our knowledge of microvascular angina. They performed a a retrospective, non-randomized, single-center study in which they selected biomarkers of haemorheology and inflammation and applied clinical methodology to diagnose and classify the patients and the control group. The study had 2 aims. Firstly, to compare Whole Blood Viscosity (WBV) levels in patients with microvascular angina (MVA), patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and normal controls. Secondly to identify the relationship between WBV and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as a marker of inflammation in CAD and MVA..
Clinical characterisation of microvascular angina and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) shows them to be examples of endothelial dysfunction at the level microcirculation and macrocirculation, respectively.
Take-home message: more research is needed but it’s possible to consider that there is a significant and independent association between measurement of blood viscosity and the existence of endothelial inflammation and progression of the atherosclerotic process.