Essential thrombocythemia

Essential thrombocythemia

overview

Essential thrombocythemia (throm-boe-sie-THEE-me-uh) is a rare condition in which your body produces too many platelets. Platelets are the part of your blood that sticks together to form clots.

This condition can cause you to feel tired and dizzy and experience headaches and blurred vision. It also increases your risk of blood clots.

Essential thrombocythemia is more common in people over 60, although younger people can also develop it. It is also more common in women.

Essential thrombocythemia is a chronic disease with no cure. If you have a mild form of the disease, you may not need treatment. If you have severe symptoms, you may need medicine to lower your platelet count, blood thinners, or both.

Symptoms

You may not have any noticeable symptoms of essential thrombocythemia. The first sign that you have the disorder may be the development of a blood clot. Blood clots can form anywhere in your body, but in essential thrombocythemia they most commonly occur in your brain, hands, and feet.

Signs and symptoms depend on where the clot forms. They include:

• Kopfschmerzen
• Schwindel oder Benommenheit
• Brustschmerzen
• Ohnmacht
• Vorübergehende Veränderungen des Sehvermögens
• Taubheit oder Kribbeln der Hände und Füße
• Rötung, pochende und brennende Schmerzen in Händen und Füßen

Less commonly, essential thrombocythemia can cause bleeding, especially if your platelet count is more than 1 million platelets per microliter of blood. Bleeding can occur in:

• Nasenbluten
• Blutergüsse
• Blutungen aus Ihrem Mund oder Zahnfleisch
• Blutiger Stuhl

Causes

Essential thrombocythemia is a form of chronic myeloproliferative disease. This means that your bone marrow, the spongy tissue in your bones, is producing too many of a certain type of cell. In the case of essential thrombocythemia, the bone marrow produces too many cells that form platelets.

It is not clear what causes this. About 90% of people with this disorder have a gene mutation that contributes to the disease.

When an underlying condition such as an infection or iron deficiency causes a high platelet count, it is called secondary thrombocytosis. Compared to essential thrombocythemia, secondary thrombocytosis causes a lower risk of blood clots and bleeding.

Complications

Essential thrombocythemia can lead to a variety of potentially life-threatening complications.

Dashes and mini-strokes

If a blood clot occurs in the arteries that supply the brain, it can cause a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). A TIA (mini-stroke) is a temporary interruption in blood flow to part of the brain.

Signs and symptoms of both a stroke and a TIA develop suddenly and include:

• Schwäche oder Taubheit Ihres Gesichts, Arms oder Beins, normalerweise auf einer Seite Ihres Körpers
• Schwierigkeiten beim Sprechen oder Verstehen von Sprache
• Verschwommenes, doppeltes oder vermindertes Sehen

Seek immediate medical attention if you develop any signs or symptoms of a stroke.

heart attack

Less commonly, essential thrombocythemia can cause clots in the arteries that supply blood to your heart. Signs and symptoms of a heart attack include:

• Druck, Völlegefühl oder ein drückender Schmerz in der Mitte Ihrer Brust, der länger als ein paar Minuten anhält
• Schmerzen, die sich auf Schulter, Arm, Rücken, Zähne oder Kiefer ausdehnen
• Kurzatmigkeit
• Schwitzende oder feuchte Haut

Seek immediate medical attention if you develop any signs or symptoms of a heart attack.

Bone marrow problems, including leukemia

Rarely, essential thrombocythemia can progress to these potentially life-threatening conditions:

• Akute myeloische Leukämie. Dies ist eine Art von Krebs der weißen Blutkörperchen und des Knochenmarks, der schnell fortschreitet.
• Myelofibrose. Diese fortschreitende Erkrankung führt zu einer Vernarbung des Knochenmarks, was zu einer schweren Anämie und einer Vergrößerung Ihrer Leber und Milz führt.

Pregnancy complications

Most women with essential thrombocythemia have normal, healthy pregnancies. However, uncontrolled thrombocythemia can lead to miscarriage and other complications. Your risk of complications can be reduced with regular checkups and medication, so have your condition monitored regularly by your doctor.

Basic thrombocythemia care

Sources:

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