![]() People with sickle cell anemia can develop high blood pressure in their lungs. It might require emergency medical treatment. A lung infection or sickle cells blocking blood vessels in the lungs can cause this life-threatening complication, resulting in chest pain, fever and difficulty breathing. If your child has any of these signs and symptoms, seek medical treatment immediately. Signs of stroke include seizures, weakness or numbness of the arms and legs, sudden speech difficulties, and loss of consciousness. Sickle cells can block blood flow to an area of the brain. Sickle cell anemia can lead to a host of complications, including: In the United States, sickle cell anemia most commonly affects people of African, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent. Risk factorsįor a baby to be born with sickle cell anemia, both parents must carry a sickle cell gene. They're carriers of the disease, however, which means they can pass the gene to their children. Their blood might contain some sickle cells, but they generally don't have symptoms. With one typical hemoglobin gene and one altered form of the gene, people with the sickle cell trait make both typical hemoglobin and sickle cell hemoglobin. If only one parent passes the sickle cell gene to the child, that child will have the sickle cell trait. The hemoglobin associated with sickle cell anemia causes red blood cells to become rigid, sticky and misshapen.įor a child to be affected, both mother and father must carry one copy of the sickle cell gene - also known as sickle cell trait - and pass both copies of the altered form to the child. Hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. Sickle cell anemia is caused by a change in the gene that tells the body to make the iron-rich compound in red blood cells called hemoglobin. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic Causes
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