CBS.com; CBS All Access; CBS News; CBSN; Watching Live TV. All Access Live TV; TV Provider
The extra red blood cells make your blood thicker than normal. As a result, blood clots can form more easily. These clots can block blood flow through your arteries and veins, which can cause a heart attack or stroke. Thicker blood also doesn't flow as quickly to your body as normal blood.
Lifestyle factors such as smoking can also contribute to the formation of thick blood, and this change in blood viscosity can lead to an increased risk of dangerous clots. Thick blood is often easily identifiable with a blood coagulation test and, there are now home options available in order to test how thick or thin the blood is. In turn, the use of home kits to test blood thickness can also be essential to determining how to prevent blood clots.