my grandma was rushed to the hospital tonight b/c her hemglobin count was low. they are giving her 4 pints of blood. but i dont understand how it was so low. (there are 6 quarts in a human body that means there are 12 pints. 2 pints in a quart) they told her last week that she wasnt getting enought blood to the left side to her heart. i was wondering what could cause this and/ or how she sould get so low on blood that quickly.
2007-10-18 19:53:10 · 5 answers · asked by kitty 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
has she had her spleen removed before?
Does she have osteoperosis?
Does she have any form of anemia?
Did she have a blood clot and suffer ischemia?
What's her usually diet consisted of?
The left side of her heart is the part that pumps the blood throughout the body while the right side pumps blood to the lungs. I'm guessing her Blood pressure dropped significantly and her Heart rate spiked. With osteoperosis or the absence of the spleen, her body might not have made enough or simply just can't make enough red blood cells faster than they're dying. Hemoglobin is in red blood cells and they help carry the oxygen and carbon dioxide. With a depriving diet, she may not be ingesting enough iron or necessary proteins to create hemoglobin. If there's a lot more blood in her pulmonary system (where the blood collects & drops off O2/CO2 in the lungs) then that's why there's a smaller volume in blood in her heart: the body's trying to pump the RBC's that do have hemoglobin with as much O2 as possible.
With your grandma given more blood, doesn't mean that she actually lost blood, but that she just can't seem to provide her body with enough oxygen (in the sports world, this is called blood-doping and it gives the athlete more oxygen to be active). It sounds like your grandmother will be stabilized but that she would most likely need to have supplements in her diet such as iron pills, and need to increase protein consumption.
2007-10-18 20:20:28 · answer #1 · answered by BITBoston 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a couple of possibilities. Many anemias are the result of in vivo hemolysis -- that means the red blood cells are breaking down within the body itself. Thus there is no external bleeding. Another possibility is drugs... some drugs (chemotherapy drugs) can result in the destruction of blood cells. Also, your grandma could have a problem with her bone marrow. New blood cells come from bone marrow and if the bone marrow isn't producing new cells as old cells die anemia could become a problem. Those are just a few thought that come to my mind... I sure there are other causes as well. The best way to find out what is going on is to make sure grandma is seeing a doctor called a hematologist -- they deal with blood disorders/anemias... Then ask that doctor to explain it to you. Any good doctor will take the time to answer the patient's (and the families') questions. Best wishes!
2007-10-19 13:58:35 · answer #2 · answered by KaseyT33 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is but it is more difficult without exercise. A healthy amount of weight loss would be about 1lb per week. So think about what you eat in a day and try to take out 500 calories from your daily intake. 500cal x 7days = 3500cal. 3500cal = 1 pound. Don't try to loose weight quicker than this as it could possibly be dangerous to you health. Good luck!
2016-03-13 01:46:44 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
another possibility, which occurs fairly often in the elderly, is GI bleeding. this occurs when the bowels bleed, and the patient may not even notice it except for the presence of black stools.
2007-10-19 16:31:31 · answer #4 · answered by bad guppy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Based on all the other Answers questions that I have read, I am guessing that she is a cutter...
2007-10-18 20:08:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋