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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffSickle cell anemia can lead to a host of complications, including:
- Stroke. A stroke can occur if sickle cells block blood flow to an area of your brain. Stroke is one of the most serious complications of sickle cell anemia. Signs of stroke include seizures, weakness or numbness of your arms and legs, sudden speech difficulties, and loss of consciousness. If your baby or child has any of these signs and symptoms, seek medical treatment immediately. A stroke can be fatal.
- Acute chest syndrome. This life-threatening complication of sickle cell anemia causes chest pain, fever and difficulty breathing. Acute chest syndrome can be caused by a lung infection or by sickle cells blocking blood vessels in your lungs. It requires emergency medical treatment with antibiotics, blood transfusions and drugs that open up airways in your lungs. Recurrent attacks can damage your lungs.
- Pulmonary hypertension. About one-third of people with sickle cell anemia will eventually develop high blood pressure in their lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing are common symptoms of this condition, which can ultimately lead to heart failure.
- Organ damage. Sickle cells can block blood flow through blood vessels, immediately depriving an organ of blood and oxygen. In sickle cell anemia, blood is also chronically low on oxygen. Chronic deprivation of oxygen-rich blood can damage nerves and organs in your body, including your kidneys, liver and spleen. Organ damage can be fatal.
- Blindness. Tiny blood vessels that supply your eyes can get blocked by sickle cells. Over time, this can damage the retina — the portion of the eye that processes visual images — and lead to blindness.
- Skin ulcers. Sickle cell anemia can cause open sores, called ulcers, on your legs.
- Gallstones. The breakdown of red blood cells produces a substance called bilirubin. Bilirubin is responsible for yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice) in people with sickle cell anemia. A high level of bilirubin in your body can also lead to gallstones.
- Priapism. Men with sickle cell anemia may experience painful erections, a condition called priapism. As occurs in other parts of the body, sickle cells can block the blood vessels in the penis. This can damage the penis and eventually lead to impotence.
References
- Sickle cell anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_All.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell disease. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=sicklecelldisease. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell anemia. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch131/ch131i.html#sec11-ch131-ch131i-238. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Rodgers GP. Specific therapies for sickle cell disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Exjade (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2008
- Reproductive genetic testing. National Human Genome Research Institute. http://www.genome.gov/10004766. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
