High Hemoglobin and Hematocrit

Just recently, the news is splashing all over the newspaper and paparazzi that in a latest biography of Sachin Tendulkar, to add a unique touch, there is something written with his own blood by the cricketing legend. There has been a myriad of opinions on whether he should have done that or not. Nevertheless, I wanted to point out through this the significance blood has in our lives. Talking of blood, red blood cells have iron containing transport metalloprotein, which we commonly known as hemoglobin. The proportion of blood volume covered by red blood cells is referred to as hematocrit. Now a dip or rise in the levels of both can pose health problems for us.

High Hemoglobin Levels

The normal hemoglobin range is between 12 to 17gms per deciliter for adults. Within this range, for men, it is slightly higher, it runs in the range of almost 14 to 17 gms/ deciliter and in women, it is a bit less. It is between 12 to 15 gms per deciliter. In addition to this the normal range described by the blood test may differ a bit from one laboratory to another.

If the hemoglobin count is higher than normal, then that could be an indicator that the person may be suffering from

1. Congenital heart disease
2. Cor pulmonale
3. Dehydration
4. Erythrocytosis
5. Low blood oxygen levels (hypoxia)
6. Pulmonary fibrosis
7. Polycythemia vera

These are potentially dangerous and life-threatening medical conditions. So as soon as either of the problems mentioned is diagnosed, a specialist doctor should be consulted for the treatment.

High Hematocrit Levels

Hematocrit levels indicate the blood volume covered by red blood cells. Described as HCT in the test, the normal range for adults is 42% to 54% for men and 38% to 46% for women. Again, just like the hemoglobin count, these readings can vary a bit depending upon the laboratory.

Hematocrit level too is checked as a part of complete blood count test. Anything higher than this count can be a sign of dehydration, lung disease, tumors, bone marrow disorder and a few other problems in worst case scenario.

Possible Causes

For High Hemoglobin
There are a number of causes behind it. They are -

• Smoking
• Living at high altitudes
• Heart disease
• Anabolic steroid usage
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Polycythemia vera - bone marrow disease where the body produces too many red blood cells.

Some more possible causes are the increase in the number of red blood cells, called erythrocytosis. This does not augur well for blood circulation and proper blood clotting. In addition to increase in the number of red blood cells, contracted plasma volume,leading to appearance of greater cell volume can be a possible reason for elevated hemoglobin levels.

For High Hematocrit
Some of the reasons for increased hematocrit range are dehydration, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other conditions associated with low blood oxygen levels and elevated level of erythropoietin by kidneys as a response to low oxygen level in blood.

Fundamentally, the conditions which lead to high hemoglobin levels automatically cause a rise in the hematocrit. As eventually it all boils down to the red blood cells.

Those mentioned above were primary medical conditions for which these possibilities account for. In addition to this, there are a few more medical conditions where the need to get a complete blood count check may arise. This is where I sign off! Hope this article was useful!