The relationship between blood viscosity and blood pressure in a random sample of the population aged 55 to 74 years

Blood viscosity is elevated in hypertensive subjects, but the association of viscosity with arterial blood pressure in the general population, and the influence of social, lifestyle and disease characteristics on this association, are not established. In the Edinburgh Artery Study, 1592 men and women aged 55–74 years selected randomly from the general population attended a university clinic. A fasting blood sample was taken for the measurement of blood viscosity and its major determinants (haematocrit, plasma viscosity andfibrinogen). Systolic pressure was related univariately to blood viscosity (P