Home Blood problems High red blood cells: causes and symptoms

High red blood cells: causes and symptoms

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

Blood is made up of various substances that must be transported from one part of the body to another. These substances include red blood cells: red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen to all body tissues and exchanging it for carbon dioxide, which the lungs will eliminate.

By placing a blood sample in a centrifuge, its components can be separated, and its exact composition is known, which should be: 45% red blood cells, 55% platelets, and less than 1% white blood cells and platelets. However, some diseases or infectious processes can alter the blood composition. In this FastlyHealarticle, we will explain the causes of high red blood cells.

What are red blood cells?

Red blood cells are a kind of sphere that contains hemoglobin, a substance composed mainly of iron and responsible for transporting oxygen to the body’s tissues. The production of red blood cells is regulated by the hormone erythropoietin, which is produced in the kidneys, and its function is to notify the bone marrow that it must make more red blood cells.

Red blood cells live between 90 and 120 days; after this time, they are eliminated in the liver or spleen. The marrow must have iron, B vitamins, and folic acid to form new red blood cells.

High red blood cells: causes

The average number of red blood cells or red blood cells varies by gender:

  • Women: between 4 and 5.5 million per cubic millimeter.
  • Men: between 4.5 and 6 million per cubic millimeter.

When a person throws a value of red blood cells above the established patterns, it is called polycythemia: excess red blood cells in the Blood, which occurs when some condition or disease is causing the marrow to work in an overactive way in the production of red blood cells. . To determine the causes of high red cells, it is necessary to perform other tests to discover what may be causing the hematological disorder.

Some of the causes of high red blood cells are:

  • Respiratory failure . When a person has chronic bronchitis, COPD (obstructive pulmonary disease), or some other complication in the respiratory system, the amount of oxygen in the body decreases. The production of red blood cells increases to replace the missing oxygen.
  • Smoking . Tobacco decreases the amount of oxygen in the Blood, so smokers may have high red blood cells since the bone marrow increases the production of red blood cells.
  • Polycythemia vera . It is a bone marrow disorder that leads to a considerable increase in red blood cells. It can also increase white blood cells and platelets. Polycythemia vera is more common in men than in women, it usually appears after the age of 40, and its cause is unknown.
  • Kidney disease . Significant kidney injury, including kidney transplantation, can lead to increased red cells in the Blood. Erythropoietin is produced in the cells of the kidneys, a hormone that regulates the production of red blood cells; for this reason, the health of the kidneys has a significant influence on the production of red blood cells.
  • Heart failure . Any damage to the cardiovascular system influences the correct blood supply of the body, leading to a lack of oxygen. This condition stimulates the production of red blood cells.
  • Altitude . Another cause of high red blood cells is living in cities at a very high level concerning sea level. Size can cause oxygen deprivation, which signals the body to produce more red blood cells.

Other causes of high blood cells are consumption of some steroid medications, carbon monoxide poisoning, dehydration, sleep apnea, and doping.

Symptoms and treatment of high red blood cells

Polycythemia or high red blood cells do not usually cause any specific symptoms; the symptoms that the person with increased red blood cells experiences may be of help to guide the specialist to discover what is causing this hematological and spinal disorder. Likewise, the treatment of high red blood cells will be based on finding the trigger in the excessive production of red blood cells so that, once the pathology is treated, marrow production can be balanced.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to High red blood cells: causes , we recommend that you enter our category of Blood, heart and circulation .

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