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Suggest Treatment For Low Haemoglobin Levels
Question: My mother is 91 and is in hospital with a heart related condition. She has also being diagnosed with a low haemoglobin level. What mifht have caused this?
Brief Answer:
there are many potential causes
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
the information you've provided is not enough to form a personalized differential diagnosis, so I'll make up a short list of common causes.
First of all the "heart-related condition" needs to be clarified. Was it a heart attack (myocardial infarction)? Was it an arrhythmia? Heart failure? In any case a low hematocrit (and hemoglobin) makes the heart less capable to serve the body, so the low hemoglobin may be related to the heart condition.
Here's the list regarding low hemoglobin:
- blood loss: gastrointestinal losses are the most common ones. Acute blood loss from a bleeding peptic ulcer and silent blood loss from the intestines are very common. Hemorrhoids is another common cause.
- other causes of iron deficiency: due to decreased absorption or reduced iron intake may cause iron-deficiency anemia.
- lack of other nutrients like vitamin B12 and folic acid: both may cause very low hemoglobin levels and can be corrected with appropriate supplementation.
- hemolysis: usually due to an acute condition like an infection or drug use.
- bone marrow disorders like the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
- anemia of chronic disease is another cause. A chronic disease is required for the diagnosis obviously. Autoimmune disorders, cancer, etc can be involved.
I hope it helps!
If you'd like to provide more details, I'll be glad to comment more on her case.
Kind Regards!
there are many potential causes
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
the information you've provided is not enough to form a personalized differential diagnosis, so I'll make up a short list of common causes.
First of all the "heart-related condition" needs to be clarified. Was it a heart attack (myocardial infarction)? Was it an arrhythmia? Heart failure? In any case a low hematocrit (and hemoglobin) makes the heart less capable to serve the body, so the low hemoglobin may be related to the heart condition.
Here's the list regarding low hemoglobin:
- blood loss: gastrointestinal losses are the most common ones. Acute blood loss from a bleeding peptic ulcer and silent blood loss from the intestines are very common. Hemorrhoids is another common cause.
- other causes of iron deficiency: due to decreased absorption or reduced iron intake may cause iron-deficiency anemia.
- lack of other nutrients like vitamin B12 and folic acid: both may cause very low hemoglobin levels and can be corrected with appropriate supplementation.
- hemolysis: usually due to an acute condition like an infection or drug use.
- bone marrow disorders like the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
- anemia of chronic disease is another cause. A chronic disease is required for the diagnosis obviously. Autoimmune disorders, cancer, etc can be involved.
I hope it helps!
If you'd like to provide more details, I'll be glad to comment more on her case.
Kind Regards!
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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