Hematocrit Levels: How many Red Blood Cell And  Platelet Count are necessary to keep the hematocrit elevated?

Hematocrit Levels

Almost every medical condition or ailment is likely to affect the red blood cell count in the body to some extent. Hematocrit levels within the human body are primarily a percentage of the red blood cells in a certain amount of plasma. Hematocrit, also known as PCV or packed cell volume, essentially means – to separate blood.  Once the blood test has been performed, the hematocrit levels are expressed in the form of a percentage. For instance, when a blood test has been conducted, the readings will show on the blood test report as HCT levels at 40%. This is indicative of the fact that for every 100 milliliters of blood in the patient’s body, about 40 milliliters of it is primarily red blood cells.  Understanding exactly what normal hematocrit levels or rbc levels are will help you easily identify the instances in which the patient is suffering from elevated hematocrit levels. Studies have shown that hematocrit levels in newborn infants will show a reading of about between 55 to 60 % while a one week old baby should have HCT levels of between 47 and 65%. This begins a slight downward trend of the individuals HCT levels as a three month old baby will have a much more modest HCT level reading of between 30 to 36% and a baby that is a year old will generally reflect an HCT count of about 29% to 41%. Hematocrit levels in children at the age of 10 years will reflect readings of between 36 and 40% while adult females will show readings of between 38% and 46% with adult males reflecting the readings between 42 and 54%. Any readings outside these normal ranges will generally indicate that there might be some internal problem within the individual’s body. Abnormal hematocrit levels are indicative of a number of medical ailments including anemia, polycythemia, dehydration and identifying if blood transfusions to help treat symptomatic anemias have worked. A Hematocrit levels test is part of a complete blood count test and is ordered in the diagnosis of anemia, dehydration as well as the monitoring of ongoing bleeding in order to check its severity. The monitoring of rbc levels or hematocrit levels during pregnancy is important because of conditions like gestational anemia, but this aside, hematocrit levels in both men and women are important and high or low rbc levels are cause for concern.

Just as with any kind of blood test, inserting a syringe into the vein of the patient in an effort to collect a blood sample that will then be tested in a laboratory performs the Hematocrit levels blood test. However, the test will not require the patient to perform any other preparatory steps in the lead up to the blood test as it may alter the normal readings of the blood test. Moreover, it is also extremely important to make sure that you inform the presiding doctor about any medication that you may be taking as there is a possibility that the chemical structure of the medication may interfere with the test results. Another aspect of the blood test that one should make it a point to be aware of and double check is that the syringe being used for the blood test is completely new and all equipment properly sterilized as there is always the very great risk of contracting some kind of infection. Reading through the test results and being able to identify whether you have elevated hematocrit levels or lowered hematocrit levels will help give you an idea of the complications that you may be affected by. However, do not let your self diagnosis prevent you from getting a professional opinion on the readings. Low hemocratic levels prevail when the individual is suffering from a condition called anemia. Some of the more common causes and reasons for this outcome are likely to include problems with the bone marrow, a recent loss of significant volumes of blood as a result of some kind of surgery and nutritional deficiencies. The cases in which the blood test reflects elevated hematocrit levels include a variety of different illnesses or situations. Some habits as well as environmental conditions are also known to cause elevated hematocrit levels – such as in the case with habitual smokers and people that live in rather chilly areas. Some of the more serious medical ailments that are likely to cause elevated hematocrit levels include dehydration, lung disease and certain tumors in the body.

Exercise and hematocrotic levels are also closely linked in that they are boosted by some amount of physical activity. The fact that an individuals Hematocrit levels can also be pushed to very surreal amounts as a result of certain chemicals being introduced into the bloodstream means that this test is regularly used when testing professional athletes for blood doping purposes as it also reflects abuse of the drug erythropoietin – which is known to enhance the individuals performance.

In order to understand the role that elevated hcd plays in copd (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), it is important to have a grasp of exactly what the condition is. COPD is a very serious respiratory condition in which the lungs tend to act abnormally as a result of certain noxious particles or gas being breathed into the body. Studies have shown that the condition is known to be the sixth leading cause of death in the world, with it expected to become the third most common cause of death by 2030. The fact that problems such as air pollution and impurities are only going to get worse serves as a reminder of the fact that we need to be very careful about how we treat our environment to prove those predictions wrong. COPD is linked to hematocrit levels by the fact that there is a huge surge in the patients RBC counts when suffering from the condition as the body attempts to fight off the problems that it is going to experience. The MCV count is a very important number for the clinic technician as it helps determine whether any blood loss that the individual is experiencing is chronic or accurate. In the event that the hematocrit levels are elevated as result dehydration, they will return to normal as soon as the fluid levels within the body have been addressed.

Since the hematocrit levels are measured based on percentages, there is no absolute count that can be ascertained in this measurement. It is interesting to note that hematocrit levels are the same for most mammals, irrespective of size – again this is not an indication that all species would have the same count of red blood cells or RBC but rather an indication of composition of RBC in the make up of blood.

Hematocrit - Measure Red Blood Cell And  Platelet Count With Hemoglobin Levels

The human blood is composed of plasma, white blood cells, platelets, and red blood cells. A hematocrit typically measures the constituency of blood for all of these factors. The process consists of taking a sample of blood in a test tube and spinning in a centrifuge for five minutes at 10,000 revolutions per minute. This allows the material constitution of the blood to come apart and separate according to weight. Plasma is about 92 per cent water in composition along with a few other components like proteins, minerals, clotting factors, hormones and dissolved carbon dioxide. It is the main medium for excretory transport from the cells to the kidneys. White blood cells in the blood comprise leukocytes. Elevated levels of leukocytes indicate the presence of disease since the body responds to an attack by pathogens by creating more white blood cells. Thrombocytes are the cells of the body that are responsible for clotting and sealing wounds. Finally, the red blood cells indicate the amount of erythrocytes and the level of hemoglobin in the blood for oxygen transport. The percentages that are prescribed for RBC in humans are 46 per cent for men and 38 per cent for women. Elevated levels of RBC could indicate some diseases like dengue, polycythemia vera, COPD and, in sportspersons, performance doping. COPD creates a high hematocrit percentage because of a lack of sufficient amount of oxygen in the system or hypoxia due to damaged lungs. Lowered levels indicate iron deficiency, hemorrhage, and chronic kidney disease – as it the kidneys that secrete the hormones required to instruct the bone marrow to create RBC.

Elevating your hematocrit levels requires that you treat the underlying causes. If you are facing chronic kidney disease then this is a condition that only a doctor can help you rectify. To eliminate iron deficiency as a problem, you should increase your intake of onions and spinach. Otherwise, you should take iron supplements to boost your levels immediately. Your doctor may advise you to take some more tests to correctly diagnose your condition.