Anemia

Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo



Anemia: A disease with many causes



Principles of writing





Nathally Cisneros L.







Abstract

Anemia is a disorder in which the blood stream cannot supply enough oxygen to all of the body's tissues. . Whenever there is a disturbance in the quality or quantity of the hemoglobin, anemia settles in, and causeslesser quantities of oxygen to be delivered to the body's tissues. This manifests primarily as severe weakness, shortness of breath and paleness. There are a number of different causes for this, but it's normally due to a big decrease in the quantity of red blood cells in the blood stream. If presented with a chronic degenerative process, is a bad predictor for prognosis.Anemia is the condition in which the human body can’t produce enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to its tissues, caused by either a low red blood cell count or a low hemoglobin count. In the complete blood count with hemoglobin concentration, anemia is defined as a diminished in the erythroid mass plus typical clinical findings.

The major oxygen-carryingprotein, hemoglobin is the best indicator of anemia compared with the rest of the blood cell lines. Currently, the hematocrit is not considered as the best indicator. In situations such as dehydration, volume depletion and hemoconcentration, values ​​may be falsely decreased. The normal range of HGB is 15.7 ± 1.7 g/dL and for HCT 46.0 ± 4.0% for a young healthy men. These values can vary betweenage, sex and body mass index. Roughly, any value below this range is considered anemia. (World Health Organization, 1968)

Erythropoiesis, is the formation of blood; most of it occurs in the bone marrow of long bones such as sternum, femur and hip bones. In children can also see Erythropoietic activity in thymus. Activation of the production of erythrocytes, or red blood cells, is influenced bythe presence of substances under various cytokines and erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is an endocrine hormone that stimulates production of red blood cells in situations such as renal hypoxia.

In the cycle of blood oxygenation; hemoglobin carries the carbonic acid, a waste product of body tissues to the lungs, where it exchanged for oxygen. Hemoglobin bound to red blood travels through the body,oxygenating the tissue and collecting waste products.

Also, it is important to notice that to produce the right amounts of hemoglobin, the body needs iron, vitamin B12, folate, and other nutrients obtained from food, hence anemia's connection to mal nutrition (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012).

There are many different kinds of anemia that produce very similar symptoms, though each one has a verydifferent physiopathology. Thus, depending on the type, many symptoms can range from mild to severe and from brief to chronic.

The symptomatology that a patient could present varies according to the severity of their anemia, underlying disease and time of presentation. Many patients only in situations of stress or increased oxygen needs can be mildly affected. Despite this, patients may beasymptomatic because the body adjusts gradually to lack of oxygen. Patients who suddenly begin to be symptomatic should be assessed for possible hypovolemia or bleeding.

The main symptoms are: shortness of breath, even at rest, fatigue, weakness, palpitations and chest pain. On some occasions may also affect cognitive benefits ratio, lack of concentration, sleep disorders and menstrualdisorders. Because anemia is a situation where there is little oxygen, the body responds by increasing the heart rate, if this keeps up for a long time, may develop cardiovascular complications such as arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. (Stephen J. McPhee, 2012)

Anemia, in general, occurs when the human blood doesn’t have enough red blood cells, as a result of three main causes: the body can’t...