If you have too many platelets, it can increase your risk for clotting. How platelets relate to cardiovascular disease Certain types of cancer, such as leukemia or lymphoma.There are a wide range of causes, including: Your platelet count drops when something is preventing your body from producing platelets. Symptoms include easy bruising, and frequent bleeding from the gums, nose, or GI tract. When you don’t have enough platelets, it’s called thrombocytopenia. For example, if you have an infection or anemia, you treat those conditions and the platelet count comes down. With secondary thrombocytosis, the symptoms are usually related to the associated condition. This lowers the platelet count by removing the blood, separating out the platelets, and returning the red blood cells back to the body. In severe cases, the patient might have to undergo a procedure called a platelet pheresis. When there are symptoms, they include spontaneous blood clots in the arms and legs, which if untreated can lead to heart attack and stroke. Secondary thrombocytosis – The same condition as primary thrombocytosis, but may be caused by an ongoing condition or disease such as anemia, cancer, inflammation, or infection.

Primary or essential thrombocytosis – Abnormal cells in the bone marrow cause an increase in platelets, but the reason is unknown.The medical term for having too many platelets is thrombocytosis, and there are two types: You get your platelet number from a routine blood test called a complete blood count (CBC). Having more than 450,000 platelets is a condition called thrombocytosis having less than 150,000 is known as thrombocytopenia. What is a healthy platelet count?Ī normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. To make contact with the broken blood vessel, platelets grow long tentacles and then resemble a spider or an octopus. When platelets receive that signal, they’ll respond by traveling to the area and transforming into their “active” formation. A blood vessel will send out a signal when it becomes damaged. They’re literally shaped like small plates in their non-active form. Platelets, the smallest of our blood cells, can only be seen under a microscope. It’s to stop us from bleeding.” What makes platelets change their shape? There’s an evolutionary reason why they’re there. “When you get a cut, for example, the platelets bind to the site of the damaged vessel, thereby causing a blood clot.

For example, May-Hegglin anomaly, Bernard Soulier syndrome and gray platelet syndrome can be seen with values close to 13 fl, Sebastian syndrome with values around 18 fl and Fechtner syndrome can reach values of 20 fl.“Platelets are the cells that circulate within our blood and bind together when they recognize damaged blood vessels,” says Marlene Williams, M.D., director of the Coronary Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. If the MPV is very high, it may suggest a hereditary genetic disorder. The MPV should be studied along with platelet count to give a better diagnosis. It is rare and a visit to your doctor is recommended. The platelet mean size is much bigger than normal range.

Severe macrothrombocytes (> 13 fl in adults):.

If the platelet count is in the normal range, the alteration is not something to be worried about. The MPV is interesting for diagnosis when the platelet count is altered to discern the possible cause. In many labs, values up to 12 fl are considered to be in the normal range. The platelet mean size is a bit bigger than normal range, but is not a matter for concern.

Mild macrothrombocytes (12 - 13 fl in adults):.

If the MPV is high and the platelet count is also high ( thrombocytosis) it is usually due to an infection or an inflammation.Ī high MPV increases the risk to suffer a heart disease. If the MPV is high and the platelet count is in the normal range, it is usually due to hyperthyroidism or chronic myeloid leukemia.

With autosomal recessive inheritance: Bernard Soulier syndrome.

With autosomal dominant inheritance: May-Hegglin, Epstein, Fechtner and Sebastian syndromes.

When the MPV is high, the platelet size is similar to RBC (Red Blood Cells) and it is followed by thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) it may suggest a congenital thrombocytopenia. If the MPV is high and platelet count is low ( thrombocytopenia) it may be due to a recovery after a severe bleeding or an ITP (immune thrombocytopenic purpura).

Low platelet count: ( thrombocytopenia).

It is possible to discern three different causes for a high MPV depending on the platelet count: The MPV is usually higher when the production or destruction of platelets is also high. The MPV (Mean Platelet Volume) measures the average size in volume of the platelets in the blood.

Mpv blood work