Schematic showing the mechanism of enhanced thrombosis in patients with elevated hematocrit. Increased RBCs narrow the near-wall RBC depleted zone around a growing thrombus. This narrowing traps platelets, allowing them to spend significantly more time in this zone, enhancing the probability that they will be incorporated into the clot. (A) Normal hematocrit and (B) elevated hematocrit. This figure was created with images adapted from Servier Medical Art by Servier. Original images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.