What Does It Mean If Your Hemoglobin And Hematocrit Are High
Your doctor may perform additional tests to determine the cause of the higher hemoglobin levels. 47 years experience Medical Oncology Consider thalassemia.
The hematocrit level is evaluated as part of the complete blood count test to screen for and diagnose anemia.
What does it mean if your hemoglobin and hematocrit are high. Your red blood cell production increases to make up for chronically low blood oxygen levels due to poor heart or lung function. When the hematocrit value is higher than the normal range it is usually indicative of an elevated red blood cell count. This can lead to clots heart attacks and strokes.
A hematocrit level below the normal range meaning the person has too few red blood cells is called anemia. A high hemoglobin count indicates an above-normal level of the iron-containing protein in red blood cells. Youve taken drugs or hormones most commonly erythropoietin EPO that stimulate red blood cell production.
You may also experience nosebleeds and flushing in your feet hands and face. Hemoglobin which gives red blood cells their color helps carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled. Hemoglobin often abbreviated as Hb or Hgb is the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells.
Low hematocrit levels may also be a sign of illness. Your blood contains white blood cells WBCs RBCs and platelets that are dispersed in the plasma. That is a hereditary di.
It is a serious lifelong condition that can be fatal if it is not treated. Advanced lung disease for example emphysema. Doctors usually find a high hemoglobin count when conducting tests for another health issue.
Hematocrit values could be affected by the size as well as the numbers of the red blood cells. These tests may look for conditions that cause your body to produce too many red blood cells or disorders that restrict your oxygen supply. Polycythemia is normally reported in terms of increased hematocrit hematocrit is the ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood or hemoglobin concentration hemoglobin is a protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood.
Dehydration produces a falsely high hemoglobin measurement that disappears when the proper fluid balance is restored. For women the normal range is slightly lower. You may not experience any symptoms if your hemoglobin level is mildly elevated.
A high hematocrit level happens when the body needs increased oxygen because. A Hematocrit HCT test is done to determine the proportion of the red blood cells RBCs in your blood. This kind of increased level of red blood cells is known as primary polycythemia or polycythemia vera.
Genetic defects that cause altered oxygen sensing or abnormal release of oxygen from the hemoglobin in red blood cells can also cause high hematocrit levels. Some other infrequent causes are high hemoglobin levels are. Hemoglobin levels greater than 165 gdL grams per deciliter in women and greater than 185 gdL in men suggest polycythemia.
This means you have too many red blood cells. Your bone marrow produces too many red blood cells. High hemoglobin levels could be indicative of the rare blood disease polycythemia.
In polycythemia the levels of hemoglobin Hgb hematocrit Hct or the red blood cell RBC count may be elevated when measured in the complete blood count CBC as compared to normal. Interestingly it isnt an inherited condition yet some families are more prone to this mutation to the JAK2 gene that is responsible for red blood cell production. For some people the high hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are due to a genetic mutation.
If your number of red cells is high or normal but your hematocrit andor hemoglobin are low you may have thalassemia minor. A high hemoglobin count occurs most commonly when your body requires an increased oxygen-carrying capacity usually because. Your red blood cell production increases to make up for chronically low blood oxygen levels due to poor heart or lung function.
It causes the body to make too many red blood cells causing the blood to be thicker than usual. High hemoglobin and hematocrit could be a sign of polycythemia vera. High Hgb is known as polycythemia.
What does high oxyhemoglobin mean. You are living at a high altitude and your RBC production naturally increases to make up for the lower oxygen supply there. But when it is too high symptoms that occur can include headaches vision problems fatigue dizziness periods of mental confusion and abdominal discomfort.
Low hemoglobin and hematocrit may indicate that you are suffering from a certain disease so you must understand this better. If the patient is fluid overloaded they will be lower than their actual level. A hematocrit level above the normal range meaning too many red blood cells may indicate polycythemia or erythrocytosis.
Polycythemia vera is a cancer of the blood in which your bone marrow overproduces red blood cells. Why Should You Test Hematocrit Levels. Higher than normal hemoglobin levels can be seen in people living at high altitudes and in people who smoke.
High hemoglobin count occurs less commonly because. High hemoglobin count occurs less commonly because. Both the hemoglobin and the hematocrit are based on whole blood and are therefore dependent on plasma volume.
By Mayo Clinic Staff. If a patient is severely dehydrated the hemoglobin and hematocrit will appear higher than if the patient were normovolemic.
