Long Island Injury Lawyer

Chronic Anemia

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by Admin in Injury Lawyer, Uncategorized

Anemia is characterized by an abnormal decrease in the number of red blood cells (RBC count) or a less than normal hemoglobin quantity in the blood. However, the term can also include a decreased ability for the oxygen-binding quality of each molecule of hemoglobin, which may be due to a deformity of the molecules.

Anemia may lead to a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in the organs as a result of the RBCs inability to supply the tissues with the proper amount of oxygen. Since oxygen is vital for human survival, anemia can have a wide range of adverse medical consequences.

Anemia is one of the most common blood disorders. There are several different types of anemia which are produced by a wide variety of underlying causes. There are several ways that anemia can be classified, which are based on the spectrum of discernable clinical data, the morphology of the red blood cells, etc. Anemia will fall into 3 main classes; loss of blood through hemorrhage (either all at once or slowly, over a period of time), the excessive destruction of blood cells (hemolysis) or the deficient production of red blood cells (known as “ineffective hematopoiesis”).

There are two major medical approaches to anemia:

• The “kinetic approach” – this involves evaluating the production, loss and/or destruction of blood cells.
• The “morphologic approach” – this groups the anemia by the size of the red blood cells. This approach will use a cheap and quick lab test as the starting point for diagnosis.

However, early focus on the issue of production may assist the clinician with rapidly determining cases in which there are multiple types of anemia that are coexisting.

Many people who have anemia are undiagnosed and their symptoms may be as minor as an occasional shortness of breath or feelings of fatigue or perhaps limited bouts of poor concentration.

However, in more severe cases of anemia, the patient’s body may attempt to compensate for the lack of oxygen by increasing the heart’s output. This will result in palpitations, angina (if there is already a pre-existing heart condition) and various symptoms of heart failure to include heart murmurs and cardiac enlargement.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

For further information on the subject of chronic anemia and its relationship to Social Security disability clams, you may wish to visit the site of SSI/SSD lawyer Gerard Lynch, serving clients in San Angelo, Texas.

Tags: blood disorders, chronic anemia, kinetic approach, morphologic approach, Social Security disability clams, SSI/SSD lawyer