Heart failure and swollen feet: Link, treatment, and more
Normal Hemoglobin Levels: Ranges For Men And Women
Insufficient dietary intake of iron, vitamin B12, folate or other essential nutrients necessary for red blood cell production can lead to low hemoglobin levels (anemia). Medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), certain antibiotics and blood thinners, as well as chemotherapy or radiation, can also lower hemoglobin levels, according to Dr. Schafer.
Low hemoglobin levels can also be seen in a variety of medical conditions, including those that limit the bone marrow's natural ability to produce red blood cells. These conditions can be the result of medications, toxin exposure, such as to some pesticides, insecticides and arsenic, or cancers that suppress the bone marrow's ability to produce healthy blood cells, according to Dr. Miller.
Low hemoglobin levels may also occur as a result of increased blood loss, such as gastrointestinal blood loss from severe ulcer disease or heavy menstruation., explains Dr. Miller. Additionally, genetic illnesses like sickle cell anemia are associated with a reduced red blood cell lifespan and low hemoglobin levels. A typical red blood cell lifespan is 120 days; sickle cell anemia causes blood cell life spans to shorten to 10 to 20 days and may result in premature blood loss and anemia.
Illnesses of the kidney may also result in low hemoglobin levels, as the kidneys produce signaling hormones that help stimulate the production of red blood cells, according to Dr. Miller.
Risks of Low Hemoglobin LevelsVarious symptoms may occur due to low hemoglobin levels and the condition can place increased stress on the body's ability to deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the cells, says Dr. Miller. "Symptoms of low hemoglobin may include dizziness, increased fatigue and even syncope or 'passing out' in severe circumstances," he explains.
Low hemoglobin levels can also cause complications during pregnancy, such as low birth weight, premature birth and difficulty recovering after delivery, and may affect an individual's cognitive functioning, including memory, concentration and overall mental performance. The condition may also result in a weakened immune system, due to a lack of iron being available for immune cell proliferation, according to Dr. Schafer. Other serious side effects may include compromised kidney function and issues with the cardiovascular system, including heart arrhythmias.
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Take The TestIn Renal Artery Stenosis Patients, Renal Stenting Does Not Improve Outcomes: National Study
People who suffer from a narrowing of the arteries that lead to the kidneys, or renal artery stenosis, do not experience better outcomes when renal stenting is used finds a national research trial. Instead, a comprehensive regimen of drug and medical therapies works just as well. The national study, which was led by Rhode Island Hospital researchers Lance Dworkin, M.D., and Timothy Murphy, M.D., in collaboration with multiple investigators worldwide, is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). They will also present the results at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on November 18. "The use of stenting to treat patients with renal artery stenosis is a treatment that clinicians have disagreed on for some time," said Dworkin, director of the Division of Hypertension & Kidney Disease at Rhode Island Hospital and a physician with University Medicine Foundation. He is the senior leader and study chair for the trial. "Our findings clearly show that renal artery stenting does not confer any benefit for the prevention of clinical events when added to a comprehensive, multi-factorial medical therapy." The CORAL (Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions) study, which was the first randomized, controlled study to look at this issue, involved 947 participants at more than 100 sites in the U.S., Canada, South American, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The participants all had atherosclerotic renal-artery stenosis and either systolic hypertension on two or more drugs or chronic kidney disease. They were randomly assigned to medical therapy plus renal-artery stenting or medical therapy alone.Advertisement
Participants were then followed for up to seven years to monitor for significant clinical events, such as cardiovascular or renal death, myocardial infarction, stroke, hospitalization for congestive heart failure, progressive renal insufficiency or renal replacement therapy."Renal-artery stenosis is a significant public health issue, so it was important that we go beyond following blood pressure and kidney function," explained Murphy, an interventional radiologist and the medical director of the Vascular Disease Research Center at Rhode Island Hospital. He was a co-principal investigator for the study. "To really understand what benefits, if any, stenting provided, we needed to look at significant clinical events."
What researchers found was that renal stenting did not make a difference in outcomes for patients.According to Dworkin, these results are significant as they will lead to a reduction in the number of renal stents that are inserted in patients who experience renal-artery stenosis. "Stents do a good job in opening the arteries, but less invasive medical therapies, which have only gotten better over time, means that patients can often avoid more invasive stenting procedures," he said.
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Source-EurekalertCost-effectiveness Of Management Strategies For Renal Artery Stenosis
Cite this articleCost-effectiveness of management strategies for renal artery stenosis. Nat Rev Nephrol 3, 586 (2007). Https://doi.Org/10.1038/ncpneph0589
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