title: Correlation between the hematocrit and slow coronary flow.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Whether the hematocrit is implicated in the pathogenesis of slow coronary flow (SCF) is not known.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate the correlation between the hematocrit and SCF, we studied 367 patients with angiographically near-normal coronary arteries. They were divided into four quartiles based on the hematocrit. The corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count (TFC) was used to document velocity of coronary flow.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the first through to the fourth quartile, the percentage of males and those who smoked as well as serum levels of creatinine, uric acid and triglyceride increased (p < 0.001), whereas the age and level of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol decreased (p < 0.05). The proportions of SCF in the quartiles increased (55.4, 60.9, 77.2 and 85.7%, respectively, p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that the corrected TFC for the left anterior descending artery (LAD) (p < 0.001; B = 0.065; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.038-0.093; beta = 0.199) and the proportion of SCF in the LAD (p < 0.001; B = 1.343; 95% CI 0.704-1.983; beta = 0.174) were correlated with the hematocrit after adjustment for confounding factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hematocrit is positively correlated with the corrected TFC for the LAD, which suggested that an increase in the hematocrit may contribute to the pathophysiology of SCF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yutong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chengqian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Que
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jingmei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing An Zhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yujie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Hematocrit; risk factors; slow coronary flow