Blood Rheology, Blood Flow and Human Health

Abstract Aerobic exercise capacity is strongly related to the ability of the cardiovascular system to bring enough oxygen to active muscles. This chapter first focuses on skeletal muscle blood flow control and presents its responses to acute and chronic exercise with a particular emphasis on the role of the active muscle mass and environmental factors. The second part describes how blood rheology impacts the regulation of blood flow and vascular function. The effects of acute and chronic exercise on blood rheology are then discussed including blood viscosity, red blood cell deformability, and aggregation. The last part focuses on a selection of nutritional supplements considered to have an impact on the cardiovascular system, blood flow responses, blood rheology, and ultimately exercise performance. We discuss how intermediates of the nitric oxide metabolism, antioxidants, and minerals and trace elements could modulate blood flow and blood rheology and improve endurance exercise performance.