Many friends will have such an “impression”: the higher the blood lipid, the thicker the blood; and the thicker the blood, the greater the risk of thrombosis. Therefore, high blood viscosity is equivalent to high blood lipids, and high blood viscosity also means easy “thrombosis”.
Many friends even left a message telling me that they rely on aspirin to treat high blood viscosity and prevent thrombosis. Others will go to the hospital to “thin blood” through infusion to reduce blood viscosity.
In this article, we will talk about how to correctly view the indicator of “blood viscosity”, and do we really need aspirin for treatment?
The causes of high blood viscosity are complex
Our human blood contains very complex components. To various blood cells, such as white blood cells, red blood cells, etc.; to various molecular substances in the blood, such as glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, fibrinogen, etc.
Theoretically, if the overall water in the blood decreases (dehydration), or if one or more components in the blood increase, this will increase the blood concentration, thereby become “thicker”.
Therefore, elevated blood lipids can indeed increase blood viscosity, but high blood viscosity cannot simply be equated with high blood lipids!
For example, if we are dehydrated because we drink too little water or sweat too much after strenuous exercise, blood viscosity can increase; for another example, blood An increase in the number of red blood cells or platelets, a significant increase in blood sugar levels, or the presence of some abnormal macromolecular substances in the blood can also lead to an increase in blood viscosity.
Clinically, there are many reasons for the increase of blood viscosity, so it is difficult for us to directly correlate the increase of this index with a specific disease.
In the ninth edition of the clinical medicine undergraduate textbook Diagnostics in China, it is specifically pointed out that the results of blood viscosity test are often lacking specific clinical significance.
In other words, even if a blood test shows a high blood viscosity, it does not help the doctor to identify the specific disease or problem in the body.
Therefore, more and more doctors are advocating: It is of little significance to prescribe tests such as blood viscosity to patients on a daily basis. Instead, it should be replaced with more clinically valuable indicators such as blood glucose and blood lipids.
And for the general population, there is no need to pay too much attention to the indicator “blood viscosity”, but should focus on blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids More specific cardiovascular disease risk factors!
High blood viscosity, take aspirin?
In my previous video comment area, many friends have reported that they are taking aspirin to treat elevated blood viscosity.
In fact, this practice is debatable!
In order to guide everyone to correctly prevent cardiovascular disease, my country’s authoritative medical organization has released the Guidelines for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in China.
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In this guideline, only one group of people is recommended to take aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease, that is, those aged 40-70 years old with a high risk of cardiovascular disease and combined at least one risk-enhancing factor.
From here, it can be seen that whether we need to take aspirin or not, it does not depend on whether the blood viscosity increases or not. high, but is determined by the overall risk of cardiovascular disease.
In other words, if your blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar, and platelet-related indicators are normal , if the overall risk of cardiovascular disease is not high, even if the blood viscosity increases, there is absolutely no need to take aspirin!
and want to get IV fluids To “dilute” blood and reduce blood viscosity, this practice is not recommended! There is currently no medical evidence that infusions can protect people with high blood viscosity or reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
What should I do if the blood viscosity is high?
Some friends here will say: We have this item in our medical check-up package. After inspection, it is found that it is indeed elevated, but I can’t turn a blind eye, so it should be How to do it?
If you find that blood viscosity increases, the first thing to do is to analyze the possible reasons.
You should first check whether the blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets in the routine blood test are normal in the physical examination report.
If you have diabetes or dyslipidemia, the high probability of blood viscosity is related to the increase of blood sugar or blood lipids, and follow-up treatment for these diseases can be done.
In addition to these indicators,some bad living habits may also cause the blood viscosity to increase. For example, heavy smoking and drinking; long-term stress and psychological pressure; lack of sleep, often staying up late; sedentary lifestyle, overweight or obesity, etc., these may be the reasons for the increase in blood viscosity.
In daily life, insist on quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption; maintaining a happy mood and reducing psychological pressure; establishing regular living habits to ensure sleep quality; Exercise, weight loss, etc., all help to improve blood viscosity.
In addition, drinking more boiled water or weak tea every day is a better way of rehydration than infusion. The diet should also be kept as light as possible, and the intake of salt, sugar, saturated fat and other foods should be reduced. Eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Finally, to sum up, the actual clinical significance of blood viscosity test is actuallyNot much. It is found that the blood viscosity is increased, which does not mean that it is necessary to take aspirin, and there is no need to go to infusion. To prevent cardiovascular disease, everyone should pay more attention to more specific indicators such as blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar, and arterial plaque.
[References]
1, Chinese Guidelines for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases Journal of Diseases, Volume 48, Issue 12, December 2020