Target Hemoglobin Level for Dialysis Patients

2015-02-21 06:51

In some cases, dialysis patients are asked to hover their hemoglobin level in the 10 range, but in some others, they might be suggested to keep it at 12. So what should be the target hemoglobin level for dialysis patients on earth?

Dialysis patients are likely to have low hemoglobin level in blood due to:

-Kidney damages

EPO, the abbreviation of erythropoietin, is an important hormone secreted by kidney. It regulates the production of red blood cells which carries oxygen. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells, so when kidneys are damaged, hemoglobin level in blood decreases.

-Frequent dialysis

Dialysis is applied by kidney failure patients to cleanse blood, however, it can not work as well as our kidneys. During dialysis, not only some wastes, some red blood cells also can be cleared away from our body, which also contributes to low hemoglobin level.

Low hemoglobin level in blood has been complicated as a contributing factor of many symptoms associated with kidney disease. These symptoms include weakness, depression, pale look, and hard breath and reduce exercise tolerance. Therefore, it is very important to keep hemoglobin level in the target range, usually higher than 10.

Low hemoglobin level is harmful to health, so does high hemoglobin level. According to emerging date, keeping hemoglobin level higher than 13 result in an increase risk of death and cardiovascular complications like stroke. Therefore, a hemoglobin level lower than 13 is recommended to dialysis patients.

Lastly, dialysis patients suffer from hemoglobin problem due to damaged kidney, so if we want to solve this problem from root, we need to take treatment to repair injured kidney intrinsic cells and rebuild damaged kidney structure, so as to increase kidney function as well as reduce risk for low hemoglobin.

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