Cardiac problems , such as arrhythmias, cardiomegaly, heart failure, family history of heart attacks. Hypothyroidism Psychological disorders , such as depression, mental confusion, memory loss. Abdominal pain or swelling , especially on the right side. The excess iron can cause a domino effect, due to the iron damaging one organ or gland, which then causes subsequent problems with other organs or parts of the body. While genetic testing will help identify your genetic risks for HH, it is important to also know your clinical status.
Many people are carriers, without symptoms, who unknowingly pass the genes onto their children.
Therefore, only doing the clinical iron profile will not help in this case. Do not base your iron levels on a hemoglobin level. It is possible to be anemic, with a low hemoglobin level, and still have iron overload. ALL anemias should be evaluated for the cause of the anemia, before treatment ensues. One must not assume that the anemia is caused by iron deficiency, without first running a complete iron profile.