Mild iron deficiency anemia usually doesn't cause complications. However, left untreated, iron deficiency anemia can become severe and lead to health problems, including the following: Heart problems. Iron deficiency anemia may lead to a rapid or irregular heartbeat.
Make an appointment with your health care provider if you're tired or short of breath and don't know why. Low levels of the protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen, called hemoglobin, is the main sign of anemia.
Eat a healthy diet with lots of iron-rich foods (like beef, liver, canned salmon, dried fruits, and fortified cereals). Drink lots of fluids. Sleep more at night and take naps during the day. Plan your day to include rest periods.
Treatment may increase your energy and activity levels, improve your quality of life, and help you live longer. With proper treatment, many types of anemia are mild and short term. However, anemia can be severe, long lasting, or even fatal when it's caused by an inherited or chronic disease or trauma.
People who do not get enough iron or certain vitamins and people who take certain medicines or treatments are also at a higher risk. Anemia may also be a sign of a more serious condition, such as bleeding in your stomach, inflammation from an infection, kidney disease, cancer, or autoimmune diseases.
Severe iron deficiency anaemia may increase your risk of developing complications that affect the heart or lungs, such as an abnormally fast heartbeat (tachycardia) or heart failure, where your heart is unable to pump enough blood around your body at the right pressure.
The last stage is iron deficiency anemia. It is characterized by a low hemoglobin concentration with small (microcytic), pale (hypochromic) RBCs. Symptoms include fatigue upon exertion, weakness, headaches, apathy, pallor, poor resistance to cold temperatures, low physical work capacity, and poor immune function.
Left untreated, however, iron-deficiency anemia can make you feel tired and weak. You may notice pale skin and cold hands and feet. Iron-deficiency anemia can also cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded. Occasionally, it can cause chest pain, a fast heartbeat and shortness of breath.
As the name implies, iron deficiency anemia is due to insufficient iron. Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired and short of breath.
But as the anemia gets worse, you may develop a blue color to the whites of your eyes, light-headedness when you go to stand up and you may look pale or experience shortness of breath. To find out if you've got iron-deficiency anemia. See your doctor; your doctor will start with a Complete Blood Count or CBC test.
Treatment for iron-deficiency anemia will depend on its cause and severity. Treatments may include dietary changes and supplements, medicines, and surgery. Severe iron-deficiency anemia may require a blood transfusion, iron injections, or intravenous (IV) iron therapy. Treatment may need to be done in a hospital.
Untreated anemia can cause a rapid or irregular heartbeat. It also puts a lot of stress on your heart. Anemia lowers your red blood cell count.
Anemia occurs when there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to your body's organs. As a result, it's common to feel cold and symptoms of tiredness or weakness.
Chest Pains and Palpitations
This puts a lot of pressure on the heart, which can cause it to beat faster, irregularly, and experience pain. Untreated anemia can exacerbate underlying cardiovascular issues. Extreme cases can lead to an enlarged heart, heart murmurs, or even heart failure.
You may also find that low iron causes weight gain. There are a couple of reasons for this; firstly, your energy levels are low and so your exercise levels reduce; secondly, iron is essential for thyroid function, and an underactive thyroid will lead to weight gain.
A sudden lack of energy and chronic fatigue are warning signs that you might be lacking enough iron. In order for all of the cells in your body to function efficiently, oxygen needs to be able to travel freely around the body.
According to a 2020 study , iron deficiency anemia can increase a person's risk of depression. Iron deficiency can cause low levels of serotonin, an important neurotransmitter and mood stabilizer.
If you have anemia without an established cause, your healthcare provider may pursue the possibility of a cancer diagnosis. Types of cancer most often associated with low hemoglobin include blood cancers, bone cancer, colon cancer, and cervical cancer.
Anemia and leukemia are both conditions that affect a person's blood. Although there is no evidence that anemia can cause leukemia, people with leukemia are more likely to develop anemia. This could be because leukemia, a form of blood cancer, causes anemia, which involves a reduction in red blood cells.
Again, our red blood cells carry oxygen to our major organs—when we have anemia, our organs aren't getting enough oxygen, which can lead to complications including damage to the lungs and heart, and, in extreme cases, death.
Many people are at risk for anemia because of poor diet, intestinal disorders, chronic diseases, infections, and other conditions. Women who are menstruating or pregnant and people with chronic medical conditions are most at risk for this disease. The risk of anemia increases as people grow older.
Specifically, iron plays an important role in how your body makes the neurotransmitters called serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – all of them important in mental health. Research suggests a connection between low iron levels and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, Levin and Gattari write.
If you have anemia, your hemoglobin level will be low too. If it is low enough, your tissues or organs may not get enough oxygen. Symptoms of anemia -- like fatigue or shortness of breath -- happen because your organs aren't getting what they need to work the way they should.
As anemia worsens, your body can experience visible physical changes — your skin could become pale, your nails brittle and cuts may take longer to stop bleeding. Other symptoms associated with anemia include: Shortness of breath. Irritability.