There is a lot of debate right now about whether phlebotomy is the best course of action to relieve higher blood viscosity due to elevated RBC/hemoglobin/hematocrit numbers. Some believe that phlebotomy actually increases the risk of stroke/heart attack and I have wondered the same thing for a couple of years, now, based on something I came across while living at an elevation of 9k feet in Colorado until moving to South Florida.
For those who don't know, in a nut shell, I have issues with my blood numbers that started when I moved to the higher elevation. Of course, higher elevation causes blood viscosity to rise and that is why my upper range for RBC/Hematocrit/Hemoglobin were substantially higher than someone who might have lived at sea level or even in Denver at roughly 5200 feet in elevation. What struck me while doing research was this: people who lived at higher elevations (roughly 12k feet) were found to have low morbidity rates for heart attack and stroke. This struck me as counterintuitive because at those elevations, blood viscosity would be significantly higher (higher RBC/hematocrit/hemoglobin) and yet their morbidity was low. If the numbers are higher, how could that possibly mean that their risk was lower?
I want to discuss this topic amongst the expert panel and get their (your) feedback and opinions. Even if you do not know much about this or aren't aware of some of this information, please join in on the discussion to debate your thoughts and ask questions, etc. If you have access to anyone who you feel would be better qualified from a medical standpoint, please invite them to chime in here and discuss this topic. I have a client who is a doctor in Canada and she specializes in blood pathology. I will try to get her to chime in as I have had some good conversations/discussions with her about this topic in the past.
Here is a link to get a better idea of what I am talking about and I would like everyone's thoughts on this link:
https://www.haematologica.org/article/view/8839
Skip
Jeff Black
homonunculus
troponin
Allen Cress
Datas4
Jeffrey Su
Wolfpack
JamiePinder14
Doggcrapp
dusty hanshaw
ScoobyPrep
sweetjane57
pastorpump
BSmitley
MattKouba
For those who don't know, in a nut shell, I have issues with my blood numbers that started when I moved to the higher elevation. Of course, higher elevation causes blood viscosity to rise and that is why my upper range for RBC/Hematocrit/Hemoglobin were substantially higher than someone who might have lived at sea level or even in Denver at roughly 5200 feet in elevation. What struck me while doing research was this: people who lived at higher elevations (roughly 12k feet) were found to have low morbidity rates for heart attack and stroke. This struck me as counterintuitive because at those elevations, blood viscosity would be significantly higher (higher RBC/hematocrit/hemoglobin) and yet their morbidity was low. If the numbers are higher, how could that possibly mean that their risk was lower?
I want to discuss this topic amongst the expert panel and get their (your) feedback and opinions. Even if you do not know much about this or aren't aware of some of this information, please join in on the discussion to debate your thoughts and ask questions, etc. If you have access to anyone who you feel would be better qualified from a medical standpoint, please invite them to chime in here and discuss this topic. I have a client who is a doctor in Canada and she specializes in blood pathology. I will try to get her to chime in as I have had some good conversations/discussions with her about this topic in the past.
Here is a link to get a better idea of what I am talking about and I would like everyone's thoughts on this link:
https://www.haematologica.org/article/view/8839
Skip
Jeff Black
homonunculus
troponin
Allen Cress
Datas4
Jeffrey Su
Wolfpack
JamiePinder14
Doggcrapp
dusty hanshaw
ScoobyPrep
sweetjane57
pastorpump
BSmitley
MattKouba
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