Blood Disorders

All medications have side effects. Blood thinners can have some serious side effects – including bleeding, dizziness, chest pain, and purple coloring to your toes or fingers. To prevent these...

In 1997, a new class of contrast dyes to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests became available. Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) were hailed as the answer to a longstanding...

A blood clot can arise in a finger from a pinching trauma, like being slammed in a door and bursting a vessel. Another cause is from the finger's being pierced, as by a wire, leading to a pooling...

A blood pressure reading notes the systolic pressure, the amount of pressure your heart generates when pumping blood through your arteries, over the diastolic pressure, the amount of pressure in...

Hemophilia is actually two different disorders (hemophilia A and B) that have similar effects; it is more difficult for people with hemophilia to stop bleeding because they do not have enough of a...

If you have a low platelet count, you have a condition called thrombocytopenia. Platelets play an important role in blood clotting. It can result from other conditions like leukemia or other...

While the human body is capable of creating many of the chemical substances it requires, vitamins and minerals cannot be produced in the body and must be consumed through diet. Calcium is one such...

The PSA Test, or Prostate Specific Antigen Test, is a test performed on older males to determine their likelihood of developing prostate cancer. This test is controversial due to the high number...

Blood sodium levels are tested by doctors for a number of medical reasons, including hyponatremia, hypernatremia and other diseases associated with edema or dehydration. Sodium tests have also...

Surgery, which can interfere with normal blood flow, is a common risk factor for blood clots. Blood clots, also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), form in the deep veins of the body, usually the...

A person diagnosed with hyperkalemia has too much potassium in the blood stream. A person's blood potassium level should be between 3.5 and 5 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/l), so any level above...

Too much iron in the blood can cause iron toxicity, which can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. It also increases the production of free radicals and depletes the body of vitamin C and...

Nicotinate is a medication made up of a combination of niacin and inositol used in the treatment of blood disorders such as Raynaud's disease, high cholesterol and intermittent claudication. The...

Lipitor is a medication used to block the production of cholesterol in the body in users with high cholesterol. The medication works by lowering low-density lipoproteins in the blood, which in...

Fumarate is an essential bodily nutrient used in supplement form to treat low levels of iron in the blood. The medication works by supplementing the body with necessary iron when it cannot produce...

Levophed is a medication similar to adrenaline used to treat life-threatening low blood-pressure levels in users. This medication works by narrowing the blood vessels, which in turn forces blood...

Heparin is a drug used to treat blood clots in the lungs or legs and to prevent blood clots following surgery, when collecting blood specimens, during dialysis or when a person is confined to bed...

Prinzide is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and thiazide diuretic combination used in the treatment of high blood pressure. The medication works by draining excess fluid from the body...

Platelets are colorless blood cells that help with blood clotting. Thrombocytopenia, or low platelet count, occurs when your platelet level falls below normal. Usually another disorder such as...

Ramipril is an ACE inhibitor medication that is used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure, and to improve survival after a heart attack. This medication works by converting...

A blood clot occurs when blood coagulates and becomes a plug in your vein, blocking your blood flow. If these blood clots go untreated, they can break off and cause serious health problems such as...

Too much calcium in the blood, or hypercalcemia, can interfere with bone growth, brain and hormone function and the contraction of muscles. There are several possible explanations for this...

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder found in individuals of African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean descent. The effects of this typically incurable condition can trigger a host of...

The maximum amount of pressure exerted on the walls of the heart whenever it contracts represents systolic blood pressure. This exact amount of pressure is symbolized by the first of two numerical...

Varicose veins can most commonly be found in legs and feet. Varicose veins can be a cosmetic concern but also can cause pain and discomfort. They also might be a sign of circulatory problems....

Blots clots occur when blood platelets form a plug and coagulate, or clot, and embed inside a vein, blocking circulation. This is also known as deep vein thrombosis, or DVT. When that blood clot...

While a large percentage of Americans struggle with high blood pressure, some are suffering from the opposite problem--low blood pressure. This disease, which is medically known as hypotension,...

Low platelets, or thrombocytopenia, can cause excessive bleeding or other side effects. Therefore, it can be important for people with thrombocytopenia to try to increase their platelet count....

Hypotension, or low blood pressure, may result in your body not receiving enough oxygen from the blood. It can lead to dizziness, fainting, chest pain, numbness in the limbs and breathing...

Hemoglobin is a protein that contains iron and is carried through the body by red blood cells. If you have low levels of hemoglobin in the bloodstream, you are considered anemic and have a low red...

When someone mentions blood in the stool, the first thought that comes to mind is cancer. However, that is not always the case. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), "Bloody stools...

Anemia is a reversible and controllable health condition when treated early in otherwise healthy individuals. People suffering from anemia have low red blood counts. A deficiency in iron, blood...

Anyone can lower their blood pressure without any side effects or paying a fortune for a doctor visit and high-price prescriptions that keeps you tired and lethargic all the time.

Though varied by the cluster of disorder, if you are experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, fever or easy bruising, these may be symptoms of one of a number of blood disorders. There are...

Lead poisoning is a serious illness that can also be called plumbism, painter's colic and saturnism. Lead poisoning results as a cause of exposure to lead, which seeps into the bloodstream. Lead...

The term "blood poisoning," although used frequently, is not actually a medical term. When people refer to blood poisoning, they are usually referring to sepsis, or septicaemia, a blood disease...

Your doctor may have prescribed a blood pressure kit for you to monitor your or your loved ones blood pressure. Your doctor may or may not have showed you how to use this kit. Even if he did you...

If you have high blood pressure, exercise is one of the best things you can do to lower hypertensive readings. Learn more about the importance of exercise for blood pressure with tips from a...

Learning how to take blood pressure is easy once you learn the basic things to listen for with the stethoscope. Learn exactly how to take blood pressure with tips from a doctor in this free...

Before a blood pressure reading is taken it's important for the patient to be relaxed. Learn more tips for taking blood pressure from a doctor in this free health video.

Taking blood pressure readings requires several tools including a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. Learn more about the tools required for taking blood pressure with tips from a doctor in...

Exercise has been proven to lower high blood pressure in many people. Learn about how to exercise to reduce blood pressure with tips from a doctor in this free health video.

High blood pressure is diagnosed through at least two separate blood pressure readings above a certain number. Learn more about how high blood pressure is diagnosed with tips from a doctor in...

Blood pressure consists of two numbers that represent the pressure your blood exerts as it moves through your arteries. Learn more about what blood pressure is with tips from a doctor in this...

Several props can be used to talked about blood pressure, including a heart model and balloons. Learn more about blood pressure educational props with tips from a doctor in this free health video.

Anemia occurs when the level of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in your body are too low. Anemia can be caused by a number of things, including excessive blood loss from injury, surgery, a problem...

Iron deficiency is a chronic disorder but it can be managed with a few important steps.

Hemolytic anemia is a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed prematurely, meaning there are not enough of them in the blood. Several factors may have contributed to this condition, such...

Intrauterine growth restriction is a term doctors use to describe a baby that remains small and refuses to grow inside the mother’s body. Studies have found that children who remain small...

Anemia is deficiency (either in quality or quantity) of the body to produce hemoglobin. Anemia if goes undetected can cause death. Reading this article will show how to diagnose anemia.