Koforidua-Ghana, Feb 13, GNA – Dr Arko Akoto-Ampaw, the Medical Director of the Eastern Regional Hospital, has advised citizens to have their blood counts checked at least once a year to avoid Polycythemia.
He explained polycythemia as an abnormal increase in the number of red blood cells, a primary or secondary condition that is typically associated with lung or heart disease.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr Akoto-Ampaw said polycythemia was a serious health condition that could kill within hours if not treated on time.
Everyone, depending on age and sex, has a range at which the haemoglobin level should usually be, an excess of which one is said to have polycythemia.
Patients who suffered polycythemia, Dr Akoto-Ampaw said, stood the risk of possible blood clots in the blood vessels, stroke and organ failures such as stale lungs.
Management of polycythemia, he said, was based on the cause; however, one of the immediate ways was to bleed the patients off the excess blood.
Although blood donation could be another means of managing polycythemia, Dr Akoto-Ampaw noted that the donated blood could not be administered to a patient if the cause of the condition resulted from the abnormal growth of cells.
He, therefore, advised citizens to visit health facilities at least once a year to run a general check-up since the symptoms of polycythemia are similar to other health conditions.
