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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Elevated RDW Level Indicate?

I had breast cancer, cancer free now, my RDW was high on resent blood work with my oncologist. everything else looked normal. didn t look at results till I got home and noticed it was high. he didn t mention at my visit. is this something I should be concerned about?
Wed, 10 Mar 2021
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

A raised RDW alone or with MCV can give an indication of certain disorders such as nutritional deficiency, anemia particularly related to deficiency of iron and folic acid. In my opinion, in your case, increased RDW reading is not of much importance unless it is associated with above mentioned nutritional deficiency. To be precise, a raised RDW with low MCV is usually due to iron deficiency where as a raised RDW with high MCV may be due to deficiency of folic acid or vitamin B12.

Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Satnarain Bansal, General & Family Physician
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What Does Elevated RDW Level Indicate?

Hi, A raised RDW alone or with MCV can give an indication of certain disorders such as nutritional deficiency, anemia particularly related to deficiency of iron and folic acid. In my opinion, in your case, increased RDW reading is not of much importance unless it is associated with above mentioned nutritional deficiency. To be precise, a raised RDW with low MCV is usually due to iron deficiency where as a raised RDW with high MCV may be due to deficiency of folic acid or vitamin B12. Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Satnarain Bansal, General & Family Physician