Optimum Hemoglobin Levels

Anemia is a condition where the number and quality of erythrocytes in the blood decreases. There are several factors that may prompt anemia: blood loss, complications in erythrocyte production, increased erythrocyte destruction, or a combination of these. There are different types of anemia, and they are distinguished by size, shape, or the erythrocyte’s substance.

Anemia is a disorder of the blood. It occurs when your body does not produce enough erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs). Without the erythrocytes oxygen can not be adequately delivered to the tissues and organs throughout the body. This will cause you to become weak and tired. A person may also experience headaches, skin pallor, and faintness. Your body may attempt to compensate for these symptoms by speeding up the heart rate and respiratory rate. This is the body’s attempt to return oxygen levels to normal(Thibodeau and Patton, 2005).

Iron Deficiency Anemia affects millions of individuals across the world. This disease strikes many more women than men and has harmful effects on all who suffer from this deficiency that causes oxygen-carrying capacity to decrease. The causes can vary amongst different groups, but the aggravating symptoms remain constant. Much of the research on Iron Deficiency Anemia concentrates on not only the treatment of this disease, but also the prevention of it. To attain a better understanding of how to treat this problem, one must clearly know what Iron Deficiency Anemia means, what causes this disease, the effects of it, and finally how to cure it.

Blood transfusions became popular between the 1970s and 1980s with a diverse population of professional athletes. EPOs (a natural hormone made by the kidney’s) followed blood transfusions and gained their popularity in the late 1980s (Eichner). The effects of EPOs were seen through the many health risks that the athletes encountered including the death of 20 European cyclists over a period of 4 years (Eichner). The 1998 Tour de France also saw its fair share of EPO use among athletes with one team being disqualified and 6 more teams dropping out (Eichner). Later came the use of synthetic or artificial blood. In recent years athletes have been accused of, and caught, using all of these methods to increase their endurance and performance. Tests are improving to be able to detect when an athlete has used one of these methods.

As a provider, one will care for many patients that have different types of anemia. Anemia is not so much as a disease as a symptom of an underlying issue. Although there can be particular signs and symptoms associated with anemia, the basis of a diagnosis is from laboratory data. For the purpose of this discussion, I will evaluate a case study and give a differential diagnosis. I will also assess how patient history, physical exam, and lab reports support my diagnosis. I will explain the pathophysiology of the type of anemia and give causes and treatment options available.

1. Anemia, pp. 989. Anemia is a areduction in the total number of erythrocytes in the circulating blood or a decrease in the quality or quantity of hemoglobin. Anemias commonly result from (1) impaired erythrocyte production, (2) blood loss (acute or chronic), (3)increase erythrocyte destruction, or (4) a combination of these three. sThe fundamental physiologic manifestation of anemia is a reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood resulting in tissue hypoxia.

Each year an athlete's creativity comes into play to create ways to become the best in his/her competitive sports; especially when one have to use a lot of endurance and energy to win. In order to be the best you have to put in the work. Some athletes do it the hard way, such as eating healthy, exercising and training. Others use the easy way out, engaging with steroids, enhancements, and blood doping to get ahead of the competition. Many professional athletes have taken to the practice of blood doping in order to gain a competitive edge in their field. But there are those who are crying that doing so can have serious consequences not only to the sports world, but to one’s body as well. Sometimes they look for harmful procedures that increase their athletic ability but can potentially do more harm than good. In this argument, I will be discussing called induced erythrocythemia, commonly known as blood doping, which can lead to medical, physical, and psychological problems.

It is the job of the red blood cell to transport oxygen to muscles. Increased red blood cell counts benefit the athlete in a number of ways. However, due to controversial methods of execution such as: blood transfusions, consuming erythropoietin (EPO), and injecting synthetic oxygen carriers, the risks far outweigh the benefits. When transfused, a high amount of blood is present within the body, increasing stress on the heart immensely leading to stroke or a heart

In the medical field, blood transfusions are used to replace blood lost due to emergencies or in patients with conditions that lower red blood cell count like anemia and kidney failure. Athletes improve performance and stamina by using either autologous transfusion, during which their own blood is drawn and stored for future use, or homologous transfusion during which athlete recessives blood from a donor. Erythropoietin is a hormone produced by body to stimulate red blood cell production. In patients with anemia, stimulation of erythropoiesis improves energy and ability to perform daily tasks, but in athletes it greatly increases performance by improving the delivery of oxygen to tissues. Synthetic oxygen carriers like HBOCs and PFCs have the ability to carry additional oxygen, and it is used as therapy when a blood transfusion is needed but no human donor is available. Athletes use synthetic oxygen carriers to achieve the same performance-enhancing effects of other types of blood

The health care provider will carefully review the medical history of the patient and determine if EPO is the best treatment for the patient’s anemia. Experts recommend using the lowest dose of EPO that will reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions. Additionally, health care providers should consider the use of EPO only when a patient’s hemoglobin level is below 10 g/dL. Health care providers should not use EPO to maintain a patient’s hemoglobin level above 11.5 g/dL.Patients who receive EPO should have regular blood tests to monitor their hemoglobin so the health care provider can adjust the EPO dose when the level is too high or too low. Health care providers should discuss the benefits and risks of EPO with their patients.Many people with kidney disease need iron supplements and EPO to raise their red blood cell count to a level that will reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions. In some people, iron supplements and EPO will improve the symptoms of

also had a complete blood count, a blood test, as a baseline to assess his overall health. The complete blood count is “To evaluate numerous conditions involving red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This test is also used to indicate inflammation, infection, and response to chemotherapy (Bladh et al., 2013).” T.A.’s abnormal blood results were as follows: RBC 3.3 10^6 cells/microL (low), hemoglobin 11.0 g/dL (low), hematocrit 33.2% (low), and mean corpuscular volume 99.7 fL (high). The normal range for RBC should be 3.8-5.81 10^6 cells/microL. Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels should be 12.6-17.4 g/dL and 36-52%. Normal mean corpuscular volume should be 79-103 fL. T.A.’s abnormal lab values indicate anemia. A decrease in red blood cell is related to nutrient deficiency such as a deficiency in iron or vitamins that are needed for red blood cell production and maturation. The decrease production or maturation of red blood cells lead to anemia in the patient. A low hemoglobin is associated with an overall decrease of red blood cell count and anemia caused by nutritional deficit of iron, vitamins, and folate. It can also be low due to a decrease level of erythropoietin caused by the AKI. Like hemoglobin, a low hematocrit is associated with an overall decrease of red blood cell count due to anemia, nutrition deficiency, and AKI. T.A.’s increased mean corpuscular volume is related to anemia caused by vitamin B12 or folate deficiency (Bladh et al.,

EPO, or blood doping as it is commonly referred to, is dangerous to heart health and can cause other life threatening issues as well. The WADA has listed a few of the dangers of EPO such as, heart disease, stroke, and cerebral or pulmonary embolism. To me the risks far outweigh the benefits from doing this. Not to mention it is been banned by the WADA as a performance enhancing technique. EPO was not created with the intention of helping athletes get an edge over others, but to help people with anemia, because it increases the amount of red blood cells in a persons body. This in turn can make the persons blood very thick and can lead to the above listed issues.

According to the American Society of Hematology, approximately 35 million people in the United States are over the age of 65, and almost 10 percent of this population is currently anemic. Anemia occurs when red blood cell counts drop, or when red blood cells do not contain enough hemoglobin. In chapter seven of Biology Today and Tomorrow without Psychology, we learned hemoglobin is an oxygen-binding protein in red blood cells that consists of four polypeptides (2-alpha globins & 2-beta globins). Each globin holds a cofactor called a heme, and each heme has an iron

It has been observed in patients with rare alterations of b-thalassemias, such as deletions, resulting in a continuous expression of the fetal hemoglobin, which has led in these patients the ability to overcome the usual clinical manifestations of this syndrome. (4-7) After these initial observations, it was later discovered that insufficient production of b-globin chain in infants with B-thalassemia can be compensated by incrementing the production of the B-like globin, g-globin. The g-globin can pair up with the a-gobin chains to form HbF. This increased fetal hemoglobin can provide a balanced recovery caused by the deficiency in adult hemoglobin that leads to inefficient erythropoiesis, elevated hemolysis, and a decreased survival of red blood cells. (4) With this in mind, new studies have been focused in examining the mechanisms that precede natural higher levels of

Investigating haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in blood samples using the haemoglobincyanide method and in foetal haemoglobin samples