Acute Myeloid Leukemia Paper

The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood (“Major Functions,” n.d.). Leukemia is a malignant cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects this system and involves an abnormal growth of white blood cells (McGlaufin, Munger, and Nelson, 2015). Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a subtype of this disease and is most common in older adults, specifically males 65 and older (Turbeville, 2014). In AML, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets (Hasserjian, 2013). This paper will first briefly describe the function of the cardiovascular system, explain how leukemia affects this system, and cover the risk factors, prevalence, diagnoses, signs and symptoms, prevention, and treatment …show more content…
Some of the general symptoms include but are not limited to weight loss, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite and night sweats. Moreover, there are certain symptoms that may be apparent due to low red blood cell counts, low white blood counts, and low blood platelet counts (The American Cancer Society, 2016). A decrease in red blood cells can cause fatigue, shivers, headaches, shortness of breath and weakness (The American Cancer Society, 2016). In addition, the shortage of normal white blood cells such as neutrophils, which are the type of white blood cells needed to fight bacteria, can cause an increase in the chance of contracting infections (2016). There is also a shortage of blood platelets for individuals diagnosed with AML. Platelets in the blood normally help stop bleeding because they stop clotting. Some symptoms due to a shortage of platelets include excessive bruising and bleeding, frequent nosebleeds, and bleeding gums. Lastly, leukemia cells can spread to other organs such as the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms that are accompanied by the spread of leukemia cells include headaches, seizures, vomiting, blurred vision, and facial numbness (American Cancer Society,