Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Symptoms. People with high platelet levels often don't have signs or symptoms. When symptoms occur, they're often related to blood clots. Examples include: Headache. Confusion or changes in speech. Chest pain. Shortness of breath and nausea. Weakness. Burning pain in the hands or feet. Less commonly, very high platelet levels may cause bleeding.
When determining whether or not a high platelet count is something to worry about, healthcare providers may look for symptoms like bruising, bleeding, and signs of infection or another underlying condition.
As thrombocytosis doesn’t typically cause symptoms, the first sign is often a high platelet count that shows up during routine blood work (complete blood count). Thrombocytosis involves having more than 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood.
This article explains what high platelet levels mean, symptoms, testing and results, treatment, and more. It also discusses the causes of high platelets, including thrombocytosis and thrombocythemia. What does it mean if your platelet count is high?
Have a very high platelet count. Your doctor might prescribe platelet-lowering drugs such as hydroxyurea (Droxia, Hydrea), anagrelide (Agrylin) or interferon alfa (Intron A). In emergencies, platelets can be filtered from your blood with a machine. This procedure is called plateletpheresis.
Reactive thrombocytosis is an elevation in platelet counts for a reason outside of the bone marrow. The platelets increase in reaction to something such as iron deficiency, infection, inflammation, cancer, or bleeding.
Inflammatory conditions like autoimmune diseases, cancer or trauma, as well as certain infections and iron deficiency, are common causes of a high platelet count. Treatment is directed at the stimulus, and the platelet count returns to normal once resolved.