How does viscosity affect blood flow?

Increased viscosity increases the resistance to blood flow and thereby increases the work of the heart and impairs organ perfusion. Some patients with anemia have low hematocrits, and therefore reduced blood viscosities. Another important factor that influences blood viscosity is temperature.

How does blood viscosity affect blood pressure?

Although it is commonly accepted that sustained hyperviscosity can decrease perfusion and increase blood pressure, it should be noted that increased blood viscosity has two effects in the cardiovascular system: it may act to increase shear stress on the endothelium and increase NO release, promoting vasodilation as …

What effect would an increase in blood volume have on the resistance to blood flow?

The effect of vessel diameter on resistance is inverse: Given the same volume of blood, an increased diameter means there is less blood contacting the vessel wall, thus lower friction and lower resistance, subsequently increasing flow.

What happens to heart rate when arterial resistance is increased?

Cardiac output is a function of heart rate and stroke volume. If the pressure in a vessel increases then the blood flow will increase. However, if the resistance in a vessel increases then the blood flow will decrease.

How can high blood viscosity affect you?

Increased whole blood viscosity is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality of several life-threatening diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

What is increased blood viscosity?

Elevated blood viscosity is the result of either red blood cell shape deformity or a pathological increase in serum proteins, red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), or platelets.

Does increased heart rate increase blood pressure?

Elevated heart rate is associated with elevated blood pressure, increased risk for hypertension, and, among hypertensives, increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Despite these important relationships, heart rate is generally not a major consideration in choosing antihypertensive medications.

What happens when blood volume increases?

An increase in blood volume increases central venous pressure. This increases right atrial pressure, right ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume. This increase in ventricular preload increases ventricular stroke volume by the Frank-Starling mechanism.

Why does blood volume increase during exercise?

During exercise there is a greater cardiac output because the athlete requires more blood and oxygen to be transported to the working muscles. The increase in the amount of blood also helps with the removal of waste products lactic acid and carbon dioxide.

What influences arterial pulse rate?

Other important factors that affect the steady and pulsatile components of blood pressure include ventricle performance, peripheral resistance, pulse wave velocity, and the timing of pulse wave reflections. Ageing and hypertension are important factors that contribute to reductions in arterial compliance.