‘Sticky’ Blood Could Put Your Heart at Risk

A new study suggests that stickier blood may increase the risk of heart attacks. Published in Atherosclerosis, the study was led by Dr Eric Poon and Prof Peter Barlis from the University of Melbourne and Dr Daisuke Shishikura from Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Japan.

The researchers studied 20 patients who had experienced acute coronary syndrome, including heart attacks. They examined 45 coronary arteries using near-infrared spectroscopy intravascular ultrasound (NIRS-IVUS) and computer modelling to understand why some plaque buildups inside arteries are more likely to trigger a heart attack than others.

They found that arteries responsible for heart attacks had stickier, more viscous blood and larger amounts of fatty plaque than arteries that did not cause cardiac events.

“Blood viscosity was one of the strongest factors linked to plaque vulnerability”, said Dr Poon.

Pictured: Comparison of culprit (left) and non-culprit plaques (right). The outer coloured ring indicates fatty [lipid core plaque (LCP)] content, while the inner ring reflects blood stickiness.

The researchers found that higher blood viscosity increased the likelihood that an artery was responsible for a heart attack by more than four times.

“Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, but doctors are still searching for the “holy grail” to identify the plaques that are likely to trigger a heart attack,” he said

The findings suggest that measuring blood viscosity could help identify patients with vulnerable arteries and improve the prevention of future cardiac events.

Future and ongoing research will investigate whether treatments or lifestyle changes that reduce blood viscosity can also lower the risk of heart attack in these vulnerable patients.