What does it mean if I have low hemoglobin?
Low hemoglobin levels can be seen in a large number of medical conditions. Generally speaking, this can result from decreased production by the bone marrow, increased loss in the form of bleeding or increased destruction inside the body. A fourth cause would be wrong lab numbers and that can be suspected if your general condition doesn’t correlate with the lab findings.
A) Decreased formation of red cells is termed aplastic anemia and is seen in the following conditions:
1) Congenital causes
Congenital anemia means that you are born with a condition that affected the production of RBCs. This cause can be hereditary or acquired during intrauterine life. They include:
- Fanconi’s anemia: This is a complex disease involving many associated conditions such as short stature, increased risk of cancer and decreased production of all blood elements due to bone marrow failure.
- Familial aplastic anemia: This is an inherited condition which presents solely by anemia due to a mutation of a certain gene increasing the risk of bone marrow failure.
- Diamond-Blackfan syndroms: This is another disease resulting from multiple gene mutations. It manifests in the form of many anomalies including the heart, the limbs and the genital system. Aplastic anemia is found in a minority of cases.