Men have higher hemoglobin / more red blood cells .. than women ..
therefore higher viscosity ..

Source: American Heart Association
Date: April 23, 1998

'Sticky' Blood May Underlie Development Of Early Atherosclerosis In Men
DALLAS, April 21 -- The stickier, or more viscous, a man's blood is,
the greater his risk of developing the kind of blood vessel damage that
can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke, a study published in
today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reports.

The increased risk does not hold true for women -- which may shed light
on why males tend to develop heart disease and suffer strokes at a
younger age than females, says lead author Amanda J. Lee, Ph.D.,
research statistician at the University of Edinburgh Medical School,
Scotland.

The study is the first to link blood stickiness to the early
development of atherosclerosis, which results from the build-up of
cholesterol, fats and biological debris in the tissue lining the inside
of blood vessels. This build-up can obstruct blood flow to the heart
and brain and thereby cause a heart attack or stroke.

The researchers cannot explain the lack of correlation between blood
viscosity and blood vessel-wall thickening in women. They do, however,
have several hypotheses.

A number of risk factors contribute to the development of
atherosclerosis, and an interaction may be required among these risk
factors to cause the blood vessel damage that occurs in men. One
interaction may involve cigarette smoking, which is greater in men than
women. A more likely explanation, however, is that blood viscosity has
a different effect in men than women, which accounts for its role in
early blood vessel damage, Lee says.

Blood viscosity may act differently in the two sexes because of
differences in speed of the blood as it courses through vessels and
subtle differences between the two sexes in the geometry, or shape, of
blood vessels, she says. A higher blood velocity in men, coupled with
greater viscosity, cigarette smoking and blood pressure, may create
greater sheer stress that does more damage in men than in women to the
one-cell-thick inner lining of blood vessel walls.

This may preferentially predispose men to the buildup of deposits in
the blood vessel walls that can eventually lead to heart attacks and
strokes, Lee suggests. "Therefore, it may be that viscosity may explain
why men have higher heart attack and strokes rates than women."

Previous studies identified blood viscosity and elevated levels of
certain blood substances, including the protein fibrinogen, as
increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke caused by
atherosclerotic disease. Other studies have shown that an increased
thickness of the intima and the media, the two layers within the blood
vessel wall where deposits form, can indicate early atherosclerosis.

"But nobody before us looked at the stickiness of blood and its various
determinants to see whether they may have an effect on intima-media,"
she says.

Moreover, when the researchers statistically adjusted their findings to
account for the role of cholesterol, age, blood pressure and cigarette
smoking in blood vessel thickening, they found that sticky blood still
increased the intima-media thickening risk in males.

"We've shown that these effects are independent of the known common
risk factors, and so basically, we can say that viscosity has an effect
on early atherosclerosis in men," Lee says.

She and her colleagues used data from the Edinburgh Artery Study, a
prospective study of 1,592 men and women 55 to 74 years old when they
were enrolled in the late 1980s. At the time of entry, each answered a
risk-assessment questionnaire and gave blood. Five years later, as part
of their follow-up, the volunteers were given a B-mode ultrasound scan,
which can provide a image of the thickness of the intima and media
layers in the blood vessels to the brain.

This ultrasound technique yields a black-and-white longitudinal image
of a vessel from which thickness measurements can be made. "We're
talking very small thicknesses-millimeters or parts of millimeters
thick," Lee says. (One millimeter equals 0.0394 inch.).

The researchers compared the intima-media thickness measurements of
1,106 study participants with their blood-flow status and the levels of
various substances in their blood. These included blood and plasma
viscosity; packed red cell volume (hematocrit); fibrinogen, a protein
involved in clotting; von Willebrand factor, which can indicate damage
to cells lining the vessel; tissue plasminogen activator, an
anticlotting factor; and fibrin D-dimer, an indicator of fibrinogen
activity.

The study noted significant correlations in men -- but not in women --
between intima-media thickness and elevated blood viscosity and three
major elements that determine blood stickiness: plasma viscosity,
fibrinogen, and the red-blood-cell count.

Co-authors of the paper are Philip I. Mowbray, B.Sc.; Gordon D.O. Lowe,
F.R.C.P.; Ann Rumley, Ph.D.; F. Gerald R. Fowkes, F.R.C.P.E.; and Paul
L. Allan, F.R.C.R. The study was funded by the British Heart
Foundation.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: American Heart Association
Date: August 17, 1999

"Thick" Blood May Increase Stroke Risk
DALLAS, Aug 17 -- A person with 'thick' blood may be at higher risk for
stroke, according to a new study in today's Circulation: Journal of the
American Heart Association.

Thick or viscous blood tends to coagulate and form unwanted blood clots
that can block blood flow to the heart or brain, causing a heart attack
or stroke.

Coagulation potential was assessed by measuring three 'factors,' which
are components in the blood that are involved in blood clotting. The
factors are von Willebrand factor, factor VIIIc and fibrinogen.
Researchers also examined whether blood components -- such as white
blood cell count -- that are an indication of inflammation can predict
stroke risk. Inflammatory by-products in the blood, due to infections
or other causes, have been associated with heart attack.

Individuals with the highest levels of these factors had the highest
risk for stroke.

"Inflammation and elevated levels of these substances in blood have
previously been associated with increased risk of coronary heart
disease, but prior to the new study, there had been scant clinical
evidence of their role in ischemic stroke, caused by a clot in a blood
vessel in the brain," says lead researcher Aaron R. Folsom, M.D., of
the division of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

"This study modestly supports the hypothesis that von Willebrand
factor, factor VIIIc and fibrinogen can identify groups of middle-aged
adults at increased risk of stroke," concludes Folsom.

Researchers also say that the blood coagulation factors may not just be
a 'marker' of risk, but could play a role in causing stroke by
increasing the risk of a blood clot in the arteries that serve the
brain.

Von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc are produced by the cells that
line the blood vessels. They increase blood clotting by causing
platelets, the disk-shaped blood components, to stick together.
Fibrinogen, a protein involved in blood coagulation, and white blood
cell count, an indicator of inflammation, were also found to increase
stroke risk, but to a lesser degree.

"Some of these factors can be detected in routine blood tests, but the
value of screening for and modifying these new risk markers as an
additional means of preventing stroke clearly remains to be
established," says Folsom.

"High levels of some of these factors could be altered by getting rid
of the other underlying risk factors," Folsom says. "Fibrinogen, in
particular, is known to be elevated in people who smoke or have
diabetes. So if you want to reduce your risk of stroke, it's important
to eliminate as many of the proven major risk factors as possible."

Researchers emphasize that there is more potential benefit in focusing
the concern of physicians and patients on well-established
cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, obesity, high
blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, since these may directly
affect the levels of stroke-related coagulation protein in the blood.

During the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study,
researchers measured these substances in 14,700 participants ages 45 to
64, who were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began and
followed them for six to nine years.

Researchers identified 191 study participants as having ischemic
strokes. Ninety-four were men and 97 were women.

After adjusting for factors such as age, race, high blood pressure,
diabetes, smoking habits and cholesterol, researchers found that those
with the highest levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc had
the highest risk of stroke.

The participants with the highest levels -- the top quarter -- of von
Willebrand factor were shown to have a 1.7 times greater risk of
developing ischemic stroke than those in the lowest quarter. Only one
small previous prospective study has been reported on the relationship
between von Willebrand factor and stroke, and ARIC is believed to be
the first prospective study ever to examine the relationship between
factor VIIIc levels and stroke risk. A prospective study follows
healthy individuals over time to look for disease risk factors.
Compared to whites, black participants had 15 to 20 percent higher
levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc and 3 percent higher
levels of fibrinogen in their blood. Whether such variables could help
explain a statistically higher incidence of stroke among African
Americans remains unclear, Folsom says. Compared with whites, young
African Americans have a two to three times greater risk of ischemic
stroke.

Co-authors were Wayne D. Rosamond, Ph.D.; Eyal Shahar, M.D.; Lawton S.
Cooper, M.D.; Nena Aleksic, Pharm.D., Ph.D.; F. Javier Nieto, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Mandy L. Rasmussen and Kenneth K. Wu, M.D. for the
Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Investigators.


Who loves ya.
Tom


Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com


Man Is A Herbivore!
http://tinyurl.com/a3cc3


DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://tinyurl.com/zk9fk

ironjustice@aol.com wrote:

ironjustice@aol.com wrote:
Men have higher hemoglobin / more red blood cells .. than women ..
therefore higher viscosity ..

Source: American Heart Association
Date: April 23, 1998

'Sticky' Blood May Underlie Development Of Early Atherosclerosis In Men
DALLAS, April 21 -- The stickier, or more viscous, a man's blood is,
the greater his risk of developing the kind of blood vessel damage that
can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke, a study published in
today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reports.

The increased risk does not hold true for women -- which may shed light
on why males tend to develop heart disease and suffer strokes at a
younger age than females, says lead author Amanda J. Lee, Ph.D.,
research statistician at the University of Edinburgh Medical School,
Scotland.

The study is the first to link blood stickiness to the early
development of atherosclerosis, which results from the build-up of
cholesterol, fats and biological debris in the tissue lining the inside
of blood vessels. This build-up can obstruct blood flow to the heart
and brain and thereby cause a heart attack or stroke.

The researchers cannot explain the lack of correlation between blood
viscosity and blood vessel-wall thickening in women. They do, however,
have several hypotheses.

A number of risk factors contribute to the development of
atherosclerosis, and an interaction may be required among these risk
factors to cause the blood vessel damage that occurs in men. One
interaction may involve cigarette smoking, which is greater in men than
women. A more likely explanation, however, is that blood viscosity has
a different effect in men than women, which accounts for its role in
early blood vessel damage, Lee says.

Blood viscosity may act differently in the two sexes because of
differences in speed of the blood as it courses through vessels and
subtle differences between the two sexes in the geometry, or shape, of
blood vessels, she says. A higher blood velocity in men, coupled with
greater viscosity, cigarette smoking and blood pressure, may create
greater sheer stress that does more damage in men than in women to the
one-cell-thick inner lining of blood vessel walls.

This may preferentially predispose men to the buildup of deposits in
the blood vessel walls that can eventually lead to heart attacks and
strokes, Lee suggests. "Therefore, it may be that viscosity may explain
why men have higher heart attack and strokes rates than women."

Previous studies identified blood viscosity and elevated levels of
certain blood substances, including the protein fibrinogen, as
increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke caused by
atherosclerotic disease. Other studies have shown that an increased
thickness of the intima and the media, the two layers within the blood
vessel wall where deposits form, can indicate early atherosclerosis.

"But nobody before us looked at the stickiness of blood and its various
determinants to see whether they may have an effect on intima-media,"
she says.

Moreover, when the researchers statistically adjusted their findings to
account for the role of cholesterol, age, blood pressure and cigarette
smoking in blood vessel thickening, they found that sticky blood still
increased the intima-media thickening risk in males.

"We've shown that these effects are independent of the known common
risk factors, and so basically, we can say that viscosity has an effect
on early atherosclerosis in men," Lee says.

She and her colleagues used data from the Edinburgh Artery Study, a
prospective study of 1,592 men and women 55 to 74 years old when they
were enrolled in the late 1980s. At the time of entry, each answered a
risk-assessment questionnaire and gave blood. Five years later, as part
of their follow-up, the volunteers were given a B-mode ultrasound scan,
which can provide a image of the thickness of the intima and media
layers in the blood vessels to the brain.

This ultrasound technique yields a black-and-white longitudinal image
of a vessel from which thickness measurements can be made. "We're
talking very small thicknesses-millimeters or parts of millimeters
thick," Lee says. (One millimeter equals 0.0394 inch.).

The researchers compared the intima-media thickness measurements of
1,106 study participants with their blood-flow status and the levels of
various substances in their blood. These included blood and plasma
viscosity; packed red cell volume (hematocrit); fibrinogen, a protein
involved in clotting; von Willebrand factor, which can indicate damage
to cells lining the vessel; tissue plasminogen activator, an
anticlotting factor; and fibrin D-dimer, an indicator of fibrinogen
activity.

The study noted significant correlations in men -- but not in women --
between intima-media thickness and elevated blood viscosity and three
major elements that determine blood stickiness: plasma viscosity,
fibrinogen, and the red-blood-cell count.

Co-authors of the paper are Philip I. Mowbray, B.Sc.; Gordon D.O. Lowe,
F.R.C.P.; Ann Rumley, Ph.D.; F. Gerald R. Fowkes, F.R.C.P.E.; and Paul
L. Allan, F.R.C.R. The study was funded by the British Heart
Foundation.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: American Heart Association
Date: August 17, 1999

"Thick" Blood May Increase Stroke Risk
DALLAS, Aug 17 -- A person with 'thick' blood may be at higher risk for
stroke, according to a new study in today's Circulation: Journal of the
American Heart Association.

Thick or viscous blood tends to coagulate and form unwanted blood clots
that can block blood flow to the heart or brain, causing a heart attack
or stroke.

Coagulation potential was assessed by measuring three 'factors,' which
are components in the blood that are involved in blood clotting. The
factors are von Willebrand factor, factor VIIIc and fibrinogen.
Researchers also examined whether blood components -- such as white
blood cell count -- that are an indication of inflammation can predict
stroke risk. Inflammatory by-products in the blood, due to infections
or other causes, have been associated with heart attack.

Individuals with the highest levels of these factors had the highest
risk for stroke.

"Inflammation and elevated levels of these substances in blood have
previously been associated with increased risk of coronary heart
disease, but prior to the new study, there had been scant clinical
evidence of their role in ischemic stroke, caused by a clot in a blood
vessel in the brain," says lead researcher Aaron R. Folsom, M.D., of
the division of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

"This study modestly supports the hypothesis that von Willebrand
factor, factor VIIIc and fibrinogen can identify groups of middle-aged
adults at increased risk of stroke," concludes Folsom.

Researchers also say that the blood coagulation factors may not just be
a 'marker' of risk, but could play a role in causing stroke by
increasing the risk of a blood clot in the arteries that serve the
brain.

Von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc are produced by the cells that
line the blood vessels. They increase blood clotting by causing
platelets, the disk-shaped blood components, to stick together.
Fibrinogen, a protein involved in blood coagulation, and white blood
cell count, an indicator of inflammation, were also found to increase
stroke risk, but to a lesser degree.

"Some of these factors can be detected in routine blood tests, but the
value of screening for and modifying these new risk markers as an
additional means of preventing stroke clearly remains to be
established," says Folsom.

"High levels of some of these factors could be altered by getting rid
of the other underlying risk factors," Folsom says. "Fibrinogen, in
particular, is known to be elevated in people who smoke or have
diabetes. So if you want to reduce your risk of stroke, it's important
to eliminate as many of the proven major risk factors as possible."

Researchers emphasize that there is more potential benefit in focusing
the concern of physicians and patients on well-established
cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, obesity, high
blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, since these may directly
affect the levels of stroke-related coagulation protein in the blood.

During the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study,
researchers measured these substances in 14,700 participants ages 45 to
64, who were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began and
followed them for six to nine years.

Researchers identified 191 study participants as having ischemic
strokes. Ninety-four were men and 97 were women.

After adjusting for factors such as age, race, high blood pressure,
diabetes, smoking habits and cholesterol, researchers found that those
with the highest levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc had
the highest risk of stroke.

The participants with the highest levels -- the top quarter -- of von
Willebrand factor were shown to have a 1.7 times greater risk of
developing ischemic stroke than those in the lowest quarter. Only one
small previous prospective study has been reported on the relationship
between von Willebrand factor and stroke, and ARIC is believed to be
the first prospective study ever to examine the relationship between
factor VIIIc levels and stroke risk. A prospective study follows
healthy individuals over time to look for disease risk factors.
Compared to whites, black participants had 15 to 20 percent higher
levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIIIc and 3 percent higher
levels of fibrinogen in their blood. Whether such variables could help
explain a statistically higher incidence of stroke among African
Americans remains unclear, Folsom says. Compared with whites, young
African Americans have a two to three times greater risk of ischemic
stroke.

Co-authors were Wayne D. Rosamond, Ph.D.; Eyal Shahar, M.D.; Lawton S.
Cooper, M.D.; Nena Aleksic, Pharm.D., Ph.D.; F. Javier Nieto, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Mandy L. Rasmussen and Kenneth K. Wu, M.D. for the
Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Investigators.


Who loves ya.
Tom


Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com


Man Is A Herbivore!
http://tinyurl.com/a3cc3


DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://tinyurl.com/zk9fk

ironjustice@aol.com wrote:

Compared with whites, young
African Americans have a two to three times greater risk of ischemic
stroke.

Anybody know if young African Americans have a higher hemoglobin ..
commonly .. than white males of same age .. ?

Since sickle cell is pretty high in African Americans of young age ..
which is a disease which causes erythrocytosis / increased red blood
cell production .. ?

Since people are now arguing there is a genetic form of iron excess in
Africa .. ?

I would bet the hemoglobin of young African Americans IS .. commonly ..
a .. weebithigher ..

Who loves ya.
Tom


Jesus Was A Vegetarian!
http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com


Man Is A Herbivore!
http://tinyurl.com/a3cc3


DEAD PEOPLE WALKING
http://tinyurl.com/zk9fk

Men have higher hemoglobin / more red blood cells .. than women ..
therefore higher viscosity ..

Source: American Heart Association
Date: April 23, 1998

'Sticky' Blood May Underlie Development Of Early Atherosclerosis In Men
DALLAS, April 21 -- The stickier, or more viscous, a man's blood is,
the greater his risk of developing the kind of blood vessel damage that
can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke, a study published in
today's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reports.