Although the patients are unable to predict when these attacks will occur, they are usually followed by an activity that boosts the body's requirement for oxygen.
Acute chest syndrome is a very dangerous component to the sickle-cell crises. "Blockage of blood vessels cut off oxygen to the bones and tissues in the chest and lungs" (Public). Bone injuries can cause severe pain. The airways in the lungs may narrow, resulting in severe reductions in oxygen delivery. By destruction of the chest area, it increases the likelihood of infectious agents over powering the body. Acute chest syndrome can be fatal if not treated properly. Other components to the sickle-cell crises are kidney failure, problems in the genital-urinary track, and liver malfunctions.
There are many complications that arrange from the anemia caused from the disease. Although the anemia may occasionally become severe and require transfusions, it is usually manageable. Chronic anemia, however, reduces oxygen and increases the demand on the heart to pump more oxygen-bearing blood through the body. The heart many times can become enlarged, with an increased risk for heart attack and heart failure.
Sickle-cell anemia is the most common inherited blood condition in America. To inherit the full-blown disease, children must inherit the hemoglobin S gene from both parents. The error in the hemoglobin gene results from a genetic mutation that occurred many thousands of years ago. This mutation originated in parts of Africa, the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, and India. "A deadly form of malaria epidemics caused the death of great numbers of people" (NIOH). Studies have shown that in areas where malaria was a problem, children who inherited one sickle hemoglobin gene had a survival advantage to the malaria epidemic. Unlike the children who had a normal hemoglobin gene, they grew up and passed the sickle trait on to their offspring.