Alpha Thalassemia Center - Framingham, MAFramingham Hematologist Doctors for Alpha ThalassemiaType of Physician: Hematologist What is a Hematologist? A subspecialty certification by the Board of Internal Medicine or Pathology; Hematologists treat diseases of the blood, spleen, and lymph glands such as anemia, clotting disorders, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, leukemia, and lymphoma. They perform special types of transfusions and biopsy the bone marrow for analysis. Specialty: Hematology Common Name: Blood Doctor Hematologist Doctors in Framingham * Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Infectious Disease  Brigham & Women's Hospital Hematology  Dana Farber Cancer Institute  Children's Hospital Boston Laboratory Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Hematologic & Malignant Bone Marrow Transplant  Mattapan Obstetrics & Pediatrics  MGH Cancer Center Chairman  Arthur Church MD  Commonwealth Oncology Framingham, MassachusettsUpcoming Local Events2012-05-19
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Alpha and Beta ThalassemiaRead the Alpha and Beta Thalassemia article » What are thalassemias?Thalassemias (thal-a-SE-me-ahs) are inherited blood disorders. "Inherited" means they're passed on from parents to children through genes. Thalassemias cause the body to make fewer healthy red blood cells and less hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin) than normal. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein in red blood cells. It carries oxygen to all parts of the body. It also carries carbon dioxide (a waste gas) from the body to the lungs, where it's exhaled. People who have thalassemias can have mild or severe anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh). This condition is caused by a lower than normal number of red blood cells or not enough hemoglobin in the red blood cells.
What Causes Thalassemias?Your body makes three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (PLATE-lets). Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body. Hemoglobin also carries carbon dioxide (a waste gas) from your body to your lungs to be exhaled. Hemoglobin has two kinds of protein chains: alpha globin and beta globin. If your body doesn't make enough of these protein chains, red blood cells don't form properly and can't carry enough oxygen. Your body won't work well if your red blood cells don't make enough healthy hemoglobin. Genes control how the body makes hemoglobin protein chains. When these genes are missing or altered, thalassemias occur. Thalassemias are inherited disorders. That is, they're passed on from parents to their children through genes. People who get abnormal hemoglobin genes from one parent but normal genes from the other are called carriers. Carriers often have no signs of illness other than mild anemia. However, they can pass the abnormal genes on to their children. People with moderate to severe forms of thalassemia have inherited abnormal genes from... Recommended Reading Related to Alpha ThalassemiaIntroduction to ArrhythmiaAn irregular heartbeat is an arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia). Heart rates can also be irregular. A normal heart rate is 50 to 100 beats per minute. Arrhythmias and abnormal heart rates don't necessarily occur together. Arrhythmias can occur with a normal heart rate, or with heart rates that are slow (called bradyarrhythmias -- less than 50 beats per minute). Arrhythmias can also occur with rapid heart rates (called tachyarrhythmias -- faster than 100 beats per minute). In the United States, more than 850,000 people are hospitalized for an arrhythmia each year. What causes an arrhythmia?Arrhythmias may be caused by many different factors, including:
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Nearby Framingham Hospitals *MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham Newton Wellesley Hospital Westborough State Hospital Westwood Lodge Hospital  Milford Regional Medical Center  VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus  Caritas Norwood Hospital  Emerson Hospital  Bournewood Hospital  McLean Hospital  Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center  Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged  Franciscan Hospital for Children  Faulkner Hospital  Kindred Hospital Boston  Arbour Hospital  Arbour HRI Hospital  Mount Auburn Hospital  VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus  Lemuel Shattuck Hospital  Massachusetts Mental Health Center  Brigham & Women's Hospital  New England Baptist Hospital  Dana Farber Cancer Institute  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  Children's Hospital Boston  Massachusetts Hospital School  Radius Specialty Hospital Boston  Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital  Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center  Cambridge Hospital  Milton Hospital  Somerville Hospital  Lahey Clinic Medical Center  UMass Memorial Clinton Hospital  M I T Medical  UMass Memorial Medical Center University Campus  Boston Medical Center  Caritas Carney Hospital  HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital  Worcester State Hospital  Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary  Lawrence Memorial Hospital  Massachusetts General Hospital  Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital  Tufts New England Medical Center  New England Sinai Hospital & Rehabilitation Center  Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital  UMass Memorial Medical Center Memorial Campus  Landmark Medical Center  Adcare Hospital of Worcester  St Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center  Winchester Hospital  Quincy Medical Center  Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital  Kindred Specialty Hospital Stoughton  Whidden Memorial Hospital  Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island  Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital  Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital  Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center  Melrose Wakefield Hospital  Nashoba Valley Medical Center  Kindred Specialty Hospital Braintree  Boston VA Healthcare System Brockton  Sturdy Memorial Hospital  Arbour-Fuller Hospital  South Shore Hospital  Tewksbury Hospital  HealthAlliance Hospital Leominster Campus Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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Arrhythmia
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Abnormal Heart Rhythms (Heart Rhythm Disorders)
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Beta Thalassemia
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