This website requires JavaScript

Polycythemia

Top Doctors
Top Doctors editorial
Top Doctors
Created by: Top Doctors editorial

Polycythemia is an excess of red blood cells "thick blood" is commonly called. Often it is a mechanism to compensate for the decreased oxygen in the blood as in important smokers, patients with respiratory or cardiac problems and people living at high altitudes. Sometimes there is a blood disease called polycythemia vera which produces an excess of red blood cells without compensatory mechanism that may be associated with thrombosis. Hematologist is the specialist in charge of diagnosing and treating patients with polycythemia.