Sickle cell disease is a condition that affects more than 140,000 Americans. It is also a hereditary disorder that can be passed on from one generation to another, with currently 2 million people carrying the gene that enables them to potentially pass the condition down to their children.
According to Mount Sinai's Sickle Cell Program nurse practitioner, Jenna Simon, "sickle cell disease is genetically recessive, which means that you have to inherit the gene from both your mother and your father. If you have the disease you are born with it-you cannot catch it like a cold." Sickle cell disease derives its name from the deformed hemoglobin, or sickle cells, that is evident in the disease process. These sickle cells stick to each other and form small masses that can block the normal blood flow within the blood vessels. When tissues or organs get an insufficient amount of oxygenated blood, this results to a painful sensation that patients often associate to that of a heart attack. Coincidentally, one of the most serious complications that is associated to sickle cell disease is the occurrence of stroke.
Researchers say that the first symptoms of the sickle cell disease can appear as early as the infancy stages in a person's life, beginning at about four months. Simon says that, "babies can present with swelling in the hands and feet-so at this point, all infants born in New York State and the rest of the country have already been screened for sickle cell disease as part of the newborn screening program." This disease is one of the leading causes stroke in children, and doctors strongly recommend routine screening for children diagnosed with sickle cell disease for the progressive evaluation of their risk for stroke. Spleen complications can also occur in patients who are suffering from the disease, leaving them immunocompromised.
Although sickle cell disease is relatively shortens the lives of many children that are affected, adults with the condition may also suffer from the same complications. That is why doctors also recommend that they get in touch with their healthcare providers so that they could be screened for their risks as well.