Patients with intermittent claudication have been reported to have disturbances in blood rheology and haemostasis. Whether these disturbances are a result of, or largely independent of, smoking history and arterial narrowing has not yet been established. The levels of whole blood and plasma viscosity, haematocrit, von Willebrand factor antigen, fibrin D-dimer antigen and urinary fibrinopeptide A antigen were compared in 617 claudicants and 722 controls from two epidemiological studies in Edinburgh. After adjustment for age and sex, all factors, except whole blood viscosity and haematocrit, were significantly higher in the claudicants compared to controls (P < or = 0.001). The risk of intermittent claudication was significantly raised for unit change in each factor, except for whole blood viscosity and haematocrit. Adjustment for lifetime smoking had little effect on the odds ratios. After further adjustment for the ankle brachial pressure index (as a measure of the extent of peripheral arterial disease), haematocrit, von Willebrand factor and urinary fibrinopeptide A showed a significant independent relationship with the risk of intermittent claudication. We conclude that the association between selected rheological and haemostatic factors and leg ischaemia is largely independent of both smoking history and the extent of arterial narrowing, and may be directly related to microvascular ischaemia.