Hemoglobin carries oxygen to the tissues. Other symptoms of anemia include tiredness, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, and palpitations after only slight exertion. There are various types of anemia. It may be only minor and give little cause for concern, or it may be a warning sign of a more serious condition. For this reason, a person should not ignore the symptoms, but should seek advice from a physician.
Physicians diagnose anemia by obtaining a blood count.
They take a small sample of blood from the patient and count the number of red blood cells in it. In a healthy person, each cubic millimeter of blood contains between four and six million red blood cells, which have a normal life of about three to four months and are replaced continually. Lack of sufficient iron in the food a person eats leads to insufficient hemoglobin in his or her red blood cells. Pernicious anemia is due to a vitamin B12 deficiency. This deficiency, however, is the result of an absorption defect, rather than a dietary lack.