What Are Blood Disorders?

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What are the primary types of blood disorders?

• Bleeding disorders (Clotting disorders/hypercoagulability)-The body usually forms a blood clot to stop the bleeding when you get hurt. Cells called platelets and proteins known as clotting factors are required for blood to clot. If you have a bleeding disorder, you either do not have enough platelets or clotting factors or they do not work the way they should. Bleeding disorders can be the side effect of medicines, the result of other diseases (e.g., severe liver disease), or inherited (e.g., Hemophilia).

• Platelet disorders-Platelets are made by your bone marrow, and they help heal wounds by forming blood clots. Having too many or too few platelets, or platelets that do not work properly, can result in platelet disorders. Too few platelets puts a person at risk for mild to serious bleeding, and too many can lead to a higher risk of blood clots. Treatment of platelet disorders depends upon the cause.

• Anemia- If you have anemia, your blood does not carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body. The most common cause of anemia is an iron deficiency. The body requires iron to create hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein which gives blood its color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Iron deficiency can be the result of pregnancy, ulcers, colon cancer, colon polyps, heavy periods, an iron-deficient diet or inherited disorders. Anemia can also be the result of folic acid and vitamin B-12 deficiencies, as well as other blood disorders like cancer and thalassemia. The disorder can make a person feel cold, dizzy, weak, and irritable. It is confirmed with a blood test, and its treatment depends on the kind of anemia you have.

What are some common blood disorders?

• Anemia

• Aplastic Anemia

• Fanconi Anemia

• Hemolytic Anemia

• Iron-Deficiency Anemia

• Pernicious Anemia

• Sickle-Cell Anemia

• Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT/Thrombophlebitis)

• Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)

• Excessive Blood Clotting

• Hemochromatosis

• Hemophilia

• Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)

• Lymphocytopenia

• Polycythemia Vera

• Pulmonary Embolism

• Rh Incompatibility

• Thalassemias

• Thrombocytopenia

• Thrombocytothemia and Thrombocytosis

• Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)

• von Willebrand Disease

 

Source: Compiled from information provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), two divisions of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NINDS and NLM health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Library of Medicine, or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.

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