Anemia happens when your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells or your red blood cells don’t work properly. This causes your body to not get enough oxygen-rich blood.

Causes & risk factors

Anemia affects 3 million people in the US. There are several causes and risk factors.

Age

Anemia risk increases with age.

Blood Loss

Any significant blood loss can lead to anemia (surgery, injury, inflammatory conditions, etc.). Some women become anemic during their menstrual cycles if they bleed heavily.

Family History

Some anemias are inherited. This means if a family member has it, you may also get it.

Lifestyle

Lack of certain nutrients in the diet, plus drinking too much, can raise your risk.

Chronic Conditions

Health issues like kidney or liver disease, cancer, autoimmune conditions, or inflammatory bowel disease can increase risk of anemia.

Medications

Some drugs, like chemotherapy, can suppress bone marrow function which can increase risk of anemia.

symptoms

Often, people with anemia don’t even know they have it. If symptoms are present, they may include:

Fatigue/Tiredness

Dizziness/Fainting

Weakness

Shortness of Breath

Pale Skin

Headache

Chest Pain

Chills

Heart Palpitations (Fluttering)

Common types of anemia

Nutritional Anemias
These types of anemia are caused by having low levels of certain vitamins or minerals. These can usually be diagnosed with blood work, which can detect if you have a deficiency.
- Iron-deficiency anemia: This is by far the most common type of anemia. It happens when your body does not have enough of the mineral iron. Iron helps make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen in the body. In the lungs, iron also binds to oxygen and sends it to your tissues and organs. You become iron deficient when you lose a lot of blood, but it can also happen if you don’t eat enough iron-rich food or your body doesn’t absorb iron properly.
- Vitamin B12-deficiency anemia: This type of anemia is caused by lack of B12 in the body. B12 is essential for the production of healthy red blood cells, so a deficiency often leads to low red blood cell count.
- Pernicious anemia: This happens when your body cannot absorb vitamin B12.
Inherited Anemias
Mutations in genes can cause certain anemias. This means the condition gets passed down from your parents. Genetic testing can diagnose inherited anemias. Some of the more common types include:
- Sickle cell anemia: Red blood cells are normally flexible and shaped like discs, which allows them to move through blood vessels. With sickle cell anemia, a genetic mutation causes red blood cells to be misshapen, typically crescent-like in shape. This causes blocked blood flow.
- Diamond Blackfan anemia: This disorder limits your bone marrow from making enough red blood cells. This type of anemia is not very common.
- Thalassemia: With this condition, your body produces less hemoglobin. This leads to smaller-than-normal red blood cells and less oxygen being sent throughout the body.
Abnormal Red Blood Cell Anemias
This type of anemia occurs when the body is unable to produce healthy red blood cells or does not make enough to support healthy functioning. A variety of tests are used for diagnosis, including blood, urine, bone marrow, and genetic. Some of the more common types include:
- Aplastic anemia: This condition is caused by a stem cell deficiency in bone marrow.
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: This anemia occurs when the body mistakenly attacks its own red blood cells.
- Hemolytic anemia: With this anemia, your red bloods cells break down and die faster than usual.
- Macrocytic anemia: This condition occurs due to unusually large red blood cells.
- Microcytic anemia: This happens when red blood cells are smaller than normal.

Treatment

The treatment for anemia depends on what causes it. For example, if you have a nutritional anemia, you may benefit from making changes to your diet or taking supplements to increase levels of the nutrient you are deficient in. In other cases, medications or infusions may help.

If your anemia is an inherited type, or it is caused by a red blood cell abnormality, your provider may refer you to a hematologist—a doctor who specializes in blood disorders. In this case, your provider and the specialist will work together to ensure you are getting the care you need to manage your condition.

How We Can Help

If you have fatigue or any of the other symptoms associated with anemia, talk to your health care provider. During your appointment, your provider will review your symptoms and likely order blood work. If your results show anemia, your provider will work with you, and possibly a specialist, to treat it so you can feel healthy and energetic again.

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