3 Health Conditions Indicative of Abnormal Complete Blood Count (CBC)

Our blood cells play a key role in our overall health. Each and every cell component like Red Blood Cells (RBCs) is responsible for transporting oxygen, White Blood Cells (WBCs) have to defend and fight off infectious foreign bodies, and Platelets have a job of instantly responding to an injury spot and clotting the blood to spot heavy blood loss.

Any malfunction in any one of the blood cell components can cost you both money in treatment and time for recovery. In this article, we explain in detail what is a Complete Blood Count, why it is important, and how abnormal levels reflect in your health.

What is a Complete Blood Count (CBC)?

A complete blood count, which is often termed as CBC, is a complete screening of your cellular (formed elements) of blood that helps in gauging your health and detect certain health disorders. A CBC calculates if there are any increases or decreases in your blood cell counts, however, normal values vary depending on your age and your gender.

Following are some of the vital elements that a CBC test scans for;

White Blood Cells: WBCs are the core of the immune system that fights against infection. Abnormally high levels of WBCs indicate you might have inflammation. Similarly, low levels indicate you are at a risk for infection.
Red Blood Cells: RBCs act as an oxygen delivery carrier throughout the body. If the red blood cell count is lower than normal, then you may experience low oxygen supply which as a consequence you’ll encounter fatigue, weakness, and anemia.
Hemoglobin: Hemoglobin or otherwise known as Hb is a type of protein present in the blood which carries oxygen from the lungs to every corner of your body.
Platelets: Platelets’ primary job is to clot the blood from over-bleeding during an injury. The CBC test also measures the number of platelets in your blood which helps in assessing the cause of health conditions where you have excessive blood loss.

Why is a CBC Metric Important for Health?

A Complete Blood Count test (CBC) is a simple test prescribed by your doctor/physician as a part of a routine health check-up or done to rule out the overall health and to measure the cells and chemicals that make up your blood.

A Complete Blood Count is commonly done under the following circumstances –

As a part of a routine health check-up (annual/semi-annual)
Screen for anemia and/or similar other disorders
To diagnose a medical condition that has symptoms like weakness, fatigue, fever, swelling, bruising, or bleeding.
To monitor ongoing medical treatment and to change course if necessary

3 Signs of Abnormal CBC Levels

CBC helps detect a variety of disorders including infections, anemia, and blood cancers. Following are 3 health conditions that need CBC levels to assess the severity and diagnose appropriately.

1. Heart disease

Heart being the core organ for pumping blood throughout day and night, certain components of the complete blood count, such as hematocrit and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, can determine the risks associated with coronary heart disease.

Also, the combination of the CBC with the white blood cell (WBC) count can improve the ability to predict coronary heart disease risk. If you are geared towards heart disease, it can be detected early with the Complete Blood Count Test.

2. Cancer

Every cell has its time frame, old cells die after a stipulated period of time and new cells form. Cancer is a tumor-like tissue that forms due to the old cells that don’t die after a certain period of time and accumulates as a hard tissue, which is termed a cancer tumor. CBC tests are performed during cancer diagnosis such as to monitor the ongoing treatment of cancer, and to assess the efficacy and/or to change the course of treatment.

A CBC test comes in handy during the following health conditions;

To help diagnose blood cancers – such as leukemia and lymphoma
To analyze whether cancer has spread to the bone marrow
See how the affected body is responding towards the cancer treatment
Diagnose noncancerous conditions

3. Vitamin and mineral deficiency

Our body is mostly made up of water, but the water is not like a plain H2O that we drink, here water in sense means the blood and blood again here refers to the nutrients and minerals that compose the chemicals altogether.

Any deficiency in the minerals and vitamins like a lack of vitamin B-12 and folate affects RBCs and the cells appear large and underdeveloped. In serious cases, the numbers of white blood cells and platelets also might be depleted and look abnormal under a microscope. Thus, any anemic condition, or feeling tired all the time requires a CBC test to analyze what has gone wrong.

How to Treat Abnormal CBC Levels?

Besides these above 3 health conditions, CBC levels can turn to unusual levels for various other reasons. However, these are the most commonly seen causes for abnormal CBC. To get the CBC levels back to normal, you need to find what is the underlying cause of the out-of-the-normal levels.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be rectified easily with the help of more balanced nutrients in your diet and cutting off harmful habits like smoking and quitting. On the other hand, cancer like leukemia needs medicinal drugs and chemotherapy treatments. However, consult with your doctor to know what works for your better, because everybody’s anatomy is different.

Be more active and have control of your diet, and exercise a lot. Any activities like walking, running or swimming, will help.

Conclusion

Most of the time, it is the personal choices in lifestyle habits that largely determine whether you are to encounter a heart disease, cancer, or anemic conditions. Leading a healthy lifestyle with a proper diet, quitting alcohol and smoking, and having control over your blood pressure can help significantly and reduce the risk of severe health conditions.