Can Anemia Kill You?
Anemia is a disease caused by low levels of hemoglobin (Hb). Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells. Without enough Hb, your body cannot carry oxygen to all parts of your body effectively. Your heart and lungs are especially affected because they need lots of oxygenated blood to function properly. If you have anemia, you may experience shortness of breath or even sudden death if left untreated.
The main cause of anemia is poor diet. Poor nutrition can lead to malnutrition and other health problems. Eating too little food can also result in weight loss which means less oxygen gets to your tissues.
When you lose too much weight, it affects how well your organs work properly and can make them fail prematurely. Weight loss due to anemia often leads to organ damage and even death.
Other possible causes of anemia include infections, toxins in drinking water, stress, lack of exercise and certain medications. Some people with anemia may not show any signs until later in life. For example, some children born to mothers with high levels of iron may develop severe anemia before age five years old.
Other times the condition develops slowly over time and may go undetected for many years.
In most people, anemia is usually caused by a lack of iron in the diet. Not getting enough iron leads to an iron deficiency which is the most common cause of anemia worldwide. Other types of anemias are caused by other nutritional deficiencies or other conditions.
All types of anemia can be prevented and treated by maintaining proper nutrition and taking certain supplements. If left untreated, anemia can be deadly.
What is Anemia?
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Globin gene studies create a puzzle; researchers have three drugs that can turn on fetal globin genes in adults, thus correcting severe anemia, but they no longer think … by NL Snyderman – 2009 – Harmony
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Dying in the city of the blues: sickle cell anemia and the politics of race and health by G Weiss – Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-General Subjects, 2009 – Elsevier
