Plasma viscosity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The thicker the blood is, the more resistance is offered creating greater shear stress against the sides of the arterial wall and allowing for accumulation of lipids. This build-up can obstruct blood flow to the heart and brain and thereby cause a heart attack or stroke. Plasma viscosity has been found to be a key predictor of heart disease over and above LDL cholesterol and the classic risk factors that have been identified. Tangney and her colleagues took blood samples from 98 fasting patients and measured the classic lipid fractions, viscosity and fibrinogen. After four hours, blood samples were obtained again.