Can You Tell Me About Hemolytic Anemia?

A rare form of anemia, a blood disorder is hemolytic anemia. This form of anemia is when red blood cells are destroyed or removed from the bloodstream before they usually have served their full lifespan. They typically live for 120 days. When an individual has hemolytic anemia, the body is removing the red blood cells faster than it is manufacturing them, which depletes the supply of red blood cells. This breakdown of red blood cells has a name: hemolysis. When there is less than normal amount of red blood cells in the body, the condition causes the body to not be able to have enough oxygen-rich blood circulating. This oxygen-rich blood is necessary for the proper functioning of the body.

Tiredness is the most common symptom when a person is anemic. The tiredness is a result of the tissues of the body not having enough oxygen. The marrow in the center of large bones in the body is how the new red blood cells are manufactured. New red blood cells are needed to replace the ones that are removed from the body. Hemolytic anemia occurs when there is an increased destruction of red blood cells and the marrow does not make enough red blood cells to replace the ones being destroyed. In one type of hemolytic anemia, the body makes abnormal red blood cells. In the other type the body’s immune system attacks the red blood cells. The destruction of red blood cells can occur in the bloodstream or it can occur in the spleen.

An individual with hemolytic anemia can be successfully treated and the condition controlled. There can be different intensities including mild to severe. If the individual has mild hemolytic anemia it may not need to be treated at all, in fact the individual may not even know they have the blood disorder. If the person has the severe form of hemolytic anemia it can be life threatening if the person does not receive treatment.

Certain medications or infections can lead to hemolytic anemia and if this is the case, changing the medication or treating the infection can help make the hemolytic anemia resolve.

Individuals of all ages can develop hemolytic anemia. Males and females can get the disorder. Individuals of all races are known to develop hemolytic anemia. Sickle cell anemia is a common form of hemolytic anemia, and develops mainly among those of African or Mediterranean descent.

What are the signs and symptoms of hemolytic anemia?

Usually if you have mild hemolytic anemia you will have no signs or symptoms and will not even know you have the blood disorder. As the severity of the anemia increases so do the seriousness of the symptoms. The most common sign of hemolytic anemia like all anemias is tiredness. 

Tags: hemolytic anemia, sickle cell anemia, anemia

Getting to Know About Hemolytic Anemia

Are you curious about what hemolytic anemia is? Do you have the condition or does someone you know have it? Hemolytic anemia is a blood condition in which there are not enough red blood cells in the blood of the individual. Different things including an infection, or certain medications can cause the lack of enough red blood cells, autoimmune disorders can cause hemolytic anemia as well as other inherited disorders. There are various types of hemolytic anemia such as Sickle-cell anemia, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, hemolytic anemia due to G6PD deficiency, and hereditary elliptocytosis, spherocytosis, ovalocytosis, and also idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

The symptoms of hemolytic anemia include having chills, being fatigued, having pale skin, and experiencing shortness of breath, or having a rapid heart rate. The individual may also have yellowed skin, dark urine or an enlarged spleen.

How do doctors diagnose hemolytic anemia?

There are various tests that can be conducted including some that are specific to hemolytic anemia such as looking for elevated indirect bilirubin levels, low serum haptoglobin, hemoglobin in the urine or hemosiderin in the urin, also an increased urine and fecal urobilinogen and an elevated absolute reticulocyte count. The individual will have a low red blood cell count and low hemoglobin as well as an elevated serum LDH. The doctor may also order a direct measurement of the red cell life span by radioactive tagging techniques, which will show a shortened life span for the red blood cells.

The doctor will have several goals when treating the patient with hemolytic anemia. The first goal is to reduce or stop the hemolysis of red blood cells. The second goal is to increase the red blood cell count as close to normal levels as possible. Lastly the doctor will want to treat any underlying cause.

Treatments are based on the type of hemolytic anemia the patient has, the cause for the anemia, and the severity of the hemolytic anemia. The treatment will also be based on age, and also the medical history.

If the doctor can isolate the underlying cause, the anemia may go away when the cause is treated.

Severe hemolytic anemia can be life threatening if it is not treated promptly.

Common treatments include blood transfusions, medications, lifestyle changes, and a treatment to remove antibodies from the red blood cells called, "plasmapheresis", surgery, and a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

Medications used to treat hemolytic anemia:

If you have autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) you may be treated with corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone. If you need to suppress the immune system, medications such as azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, or danazol may also be prescribed.

Intravenous gamma globulin may als be prescribed to suppress antibody formation if the individual does not respond well to the corticosteroids.

If other treatments designed to effect the immune systme plasmapheresis may be tried. Plasmapheresis removes the antibodies from red blood cells.

Tags: hemolytic anemia, anemia, plasmapheresis