Anemia, meaning that too few erythrocytes (red blood cells) circulating around the body. A good indirect measure of the number of erythrocytes is to measure the concentration of hemoglobin (Hb). Anemia is defined as a reduction of hemoglobin below the lower limit of the patient's age and gender. A man is anemic when the Hb falls below 13 g/100 ml, while a woman is anemic when the Hb falls below 12 g/100 ml. Actually, anemia either a diagnosis or disease. Anemia is a sign of disease. The doctor's task is to determine the cause of the patient is anemic. It may be simple, such as when the patient has a bleeding ulcer. Nevertheless, often the cause is far from obvious, and thorough investigations are required.
Symptoms / signs
Moderate anemia can present with the indisposed and decreased endurance. At a more severe anemia, the patient is pale and suffering from fatigue, sleepiness and sometimes headaches. The patient has a tendency to get dizzy (the black spots on the eyes) and to pass out. In severe cases, you get rapid pulse, palpitations, ringing in the ears and shortness of breath because the heart tries to remedy the lack of oxygen by pumping the oxygenated blood around faster.
