HAEMOGLOBIN TEST

A hemoglobin test is a blood test. It measures the amount of a protein in red blood cells called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen to the body's organs and tissues when you breathe in. Then it carries the waste gas carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be breathed out. If a hemoglobin test shows that your hemoglobin level is lower than it should be, that's a sign of a condition called anemia. Causes of anemia include low levels of certain nutrients, blood loss and some long-term diseases. If a hemoglobin test shows a higher than typical level, that also could be due to various causes. Together, these causes are named erythrocytosis. The causes of erythrocytosis can be due to issues that are not cancer. These include living at a high altitude, smoking, sleep apnea, inherited hemoglobin conditions, and dehydration. Erythrocytosis can happen due to a type of bone marrow cancer called polycythemia vera.