What is hemoglobin?
Hemoglobin is the main component of red blood cells. Hemoglobin (abbreviation: Hb) is a red substance made of iron and protein.
What's the function of hemoglobin?
- In the blood, it carries oxygen to the cells in the body from the lungs.
- Hemoglobin also carries carbon dioxide away from the cells to the lungs, later exhaled from the body. Carbon dioxide is a colorless and odorless gas present in small amounts in the air. It is a result of metabolism in the body. Metabolism is the chemical action in cells that release energy from nutrients or use energy to create other substances.
What are normal reference ranges for hemoglobin?
Normal hemoglobin levels differ depending on several factors, including age, sex at birth, hormonal supplementation, altitude of residence as well as presence of different hemoglobin types that impact hemoglobin turnover and affinity for oxygen binding.
Like other blood values, slightly high or low levels of hemoglobin may be normal for some people. Still, suppose you are falling too far out of the normal range. In that case, your doctor will most likely order more comprehensive testing to determine the cause.
Normal Ranges for Hemoglobin in g/dL:
Men: 14 to 18
Women: 12 to 16
Children to up 18 years of age: 11 to 13
Critical Range: <5 or >20
Additional notes:
- Elevated hemoglobin by itself is not considered a disorder, but rather a symptom of a medical condition. Therefore, treatment must target the underlying cause.
- Hemoglobin counts of endurance athletes can be as much as 30% higher than that of the average adult, which is considered normal.
Here are a few reasons why a hemoglobin test is being performed:
To check your overall health: Your doctor may test your hemoglobin as part of a complete blood count during a routine medical examination to monitor your general health and to screen for a variety of disorders, such as anemia.
To diagnose a medical condition: Your doctor may suggest a hemoglobin test if you're experiencing weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath or dizziness. These signs and symptoms may point to anemia or polycythemia vera. A hemoglobin test may help diagnose these or other medical conditions.
To monitor a medical condition: If you've been diagnosed with anemia or polycythemia vera, your doctor may use a hemoglobin test to monitor your condition and guide treatment.
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Elevated hemoglobin by itself is not considered a disorder, but rather a symptom of a medical condition. Therefore, treatment must target the underlying cause.
It's important to note that hemoglobin counts of endurance athletes can be as much as 30% higher than that of the average adult, which is considered normal. Like other blood values, slightly high or low levels of hemoglobin may be normal for some people. Still, suppose you are falling too far out of the normal range. In that case, your doctor will most likely order more comprehensive testing to determine the cause.
High levels of hemoglobin are associated with increased blood thickness. This can slow down the blood flow and oxygen transport and, in some cases, form blood clots, which increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
High levels of hemoglobin are associated with increased blood thickness. Blood thickness can slow down the blood flow and oxygen transport. In some cases, blood clots can form. Blood clots increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Some specific causes of high hemoglobin might be:
- Dehydration
- Living at high altitude
- Medications such as anabolic steroids (incl. testosterone) and others.
- Smoking
- Poor lung function
- Heart problems
- Kidney Cancer
- Liver Cancer
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Hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells. Your red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body. If you have a condition that affects your body’s ability to make red blood cells, your hemoglobin levels may drop.
Low hemoglobin levels may be a symptom of several conditions, including different kinds of anemia and cancer.
If a hemoglobin test reveals that your hemoglobin level is lower than normal, it means you have a low red blood cell count (= anemia). Anemia can have many different causes, including vitamin deficiencies, bleeding and chronic diseases.
What are symptoms of low hemoglobin (= anemia)?
Low hemoglobin can lead to tiredness, difficulty concentrating, and when severe, even difficulty breathing, chest pain with exertion and fainting.
How is low hemoglobin treated?
Healthcare providers treat low hemoglobin by diagnosing the underlying cause. For example, if your hemoglobin levels are low, your healthcare provider may do tests that reveal you have iron-deficiency anemia. If that’s your situation, they’ll treat your anemia with supplements. They may recommend you try to follow an iron-rich diet. In most cases, treating the underlying cause of anemia will bring the hemoglobin level up.
What causes hemoglobin levels to go low?
- Your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells. Your body produces red blood cells and white blood cells in your bone marrow. Sometimes, conditions and diseases affect your bone marrow’s ability to produce or support enough red blood cells.
- Your body produces enough red blood cells, but the cells are dying faster than your body can replace them.
- You’re losing blood from injury or illness. You lose iron anytime you lose blood. Sometimes, women have low hemoglobin levels when they have their periods. You may also lose blood if you have internal bleeding, such as a bleeding ulcer.
- Your body can’t absorb iron, which affects your body’s ability to develop red blood cells.
- You’re not getting enough essential nutrients like iron and vitamins B12 and B9.
Diseases, conditions and other factors that affect red blood cell production include:
Lymphoma. Lymphoma is a term for cancers in your lymphatic system. If you have lymphoma cells in your bone marrow, those cells can crowd out red blood cells, reducing the number of red blood cells.
Leukemia. Leukemia is cancer of your blood and bone marrow. Leukemia cells in your bone marrow can limit the number of red blood cells your bone marrow produces.
Anemia. There are many kinds of anemias involving low hemoglobin levels. For example, if you have aplastic anemia, the stem cells in your bone marrow don’t create enough blood cells. In pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder keeps your body from absorbing vitamin B12. Without enough B12, your body produces fewer red blood cells.
Multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma causes your body to develop abnormal plasma cells that may displace red blood cells.
Myelodysplastic syndromes. This condition happens when your blood stem cells don’t become healthy blood cells.
Chronic kidney disease. Your kidneys make a hormone that signals your bone marrow to make red blood cells. Chronic kidney disease affects this process.
Antiretroviral medications. These medications treat certain viruses. Sometimes, these medications damage your bone marrow, affecting its ability to make enough red blood cells.
Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy may affect bone marrow cells, reducing the number of red blood cells your bone marrow produces.
What are risk factors for low hemoglobin?
- Older people or people who lack iron in their diets can be at risk of developing anemia.
- People who perform vigorous exercise are also at greater risk, as exertion can lead to a breakdown of red blood cells in the bloodstream.
- Someone who is menstruating or pregnant may also be at increased risk of developing anemia.
- People who have chronic health conditions, including autoimmune conditions, liver disease, thyroid disease, and inflammatory bowel disease, may have lower hemoglobin levels, which increases the chances of developing anemia.
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I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.
Karin
Advanced Plan Member since 2020
What fantastic service and great, easy-to-follow layouts! I love your website; it makes it so helpful to see patterns in my health data. It's truly a pleasure to use. I only wish the NHS was as organized and quick as Healthmatters.io. You've set a new standard for health tracking!
Paul
Healthmatters Pro Member since 2024
As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!
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Haemoglobin (g/L), Hematocrit (Female range), Hematocrit (HCT) / Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Hemoglobin, Hemoglobin (Female range), Mean Cell Volume, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Platelet Volume (MPV), Mean RBC Iron, Mean RBC Iron Concentration, Mean RBC Volume, MXD #, MXD %, Platelet count / Platelets, Platelet Distribution Width (PDW), Platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR), RBC (Female range), RBC Distribution Width, RDW-CV (Red Cell Distribution Width) in %, RDW-SD (Red Cell Distribution Width) in fL, Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes / RBC), White blood cells (Leukocytes / WBC)
