The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible relationship of the hemorheological disturbances with the clinical symptoms and some risk factors (RF) for cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). The study included 68 patients with CVD, 29 with transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and 39 with chronic unilateral cerebral infarctions (UCI) and 47 healthy control subjects. A questionnaire for RF for CVD was filled. Hemorheological variables: leucocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, fibrinogen (Fib), plasma (PV) and whole blood viscosity (WBV) at different shear rates by Couette rotational viscometer Contraves Low Shear 30 were investigated and the hemorheological indices of erythrocyte aggregation (IEA), erythrocyte deformability (IED) and of oxygen transport to tissues (TO 2 ) were calculated. The arterial hypertension was the most frequent RF in the examined patients'. The hemorheological investigation showed significant increase of Fib in the patients with TIA and of PV and WBV in both patients' groups. The comparative study of the hemorheological variables with the RF for CVD showed predominating significant correlations with blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and mean) values, with age, cholesterol, physical activity and the body mass index. Our study confirms the possibility the hemorheological variables to be accepted as RF for development of stroke and for its recurrences. I. Velcheva et al. / Hemorheological disturbances in cerebrovascular diseasesdementia [2,16,17,20]. In these studies the abnormal changes of the hemorheological parameters correlated with the presence of arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and others [1]. Subjects and methods SubjectsA total of 68 patients with CVD, 39 with chronic unilateral cerebral infarctions (UCI) and 29 with TIA and 47 presumed healthy subjects were included in the study. All patients underwent somatic and neurological examination, ultrasound duplex scanning of the common and internal carotid arteries, CT, MRI. Also a questionnaire for risk factors for CVD was filled. The systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in mmHg were registered. The mean arterial blood pressure (MBP) by the Wiggers formula and the body mass index (BMI) in kg/m 2 were calculated (Table 1).

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By means of conventional continuous-wave (CW) (4 MHz) and transcranial pulsed (2 MHz) Doppler sonography 50 patients (34 men and 16 women, mean age 58.6 +/- 7.6 years) who survived unilateral cerebral infarctions (UCI) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory were investigated. The control group consisted of 30 presumed healthy age-matched persons. The main quantitative sonographic parameters of the major arteries of the head and the basal cerebral arteries were evaluated. On the day of the neurosonographic investigations, hematocrit (Hct) was determined. Low-degree stenoses of the internal carotid arteries were found in 26 (52%) of the patients. Increased intracranial vessels' resistance in the MCA on the infarction side was usually obtained. Decreasing of Doppler shift frequency with advancing age and increasing of Hct was established in the controls. In patients with UCI the effects of aging and Hct on the sonographic parameters of the collateral arteries were more pronounced. Obviously, in patients with UCI, the alterations of the sonographic parameters are caused by parallel influence of vessels' disease, age-defined changes of vessels' walls, and viscosity variations.