Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells, normally 12-16 g/dL. Low levels signal anemia and poor tissue oxygenation, caused by bleeding, infection, iron deficiency, kidney disease, cancer, or autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.
In this video, we're diving into hemoglobin. We'll talk through what hemoglobin is and what it means for your patients in this lab value series. I also have a free lab values cheat sheet for you. So let's dive in. Now, hemoglobin typically goes hand in hand with hematocrit. So hemoglobin and hematocrit, we call this the H and H. If you haven't watched this video here where I break down the hematocrit level, you will want to go back and watch that one, too. So when you hear about an HNH value in nursing school, you'll want to immediately think about red blood cells, because both of these measurements will tell you something about the status of the red blood cells in the body. The hemoglobin lab value tells you how much hemoglobin is on the red blood cells. Hemoglobin is actually the spot on the red blood cells that carries the oxygen molecule. A normal hemoglobin value is between about 12 to 16 grams per deciliter, but that number can vary slightly from hospital to hospital or facility. Facility. Now, the patient's hemoglobin level can be really important to keep track of, and here's why. When you think of red blood cells, think oxygen. The red blood cells are the ones that transport oxygen to the body tissues and they take away the rate waste products back to the lungs, things like carbon dioxide. And the hemoglobin spot on the red blood cell is actually the area that does that specifically. So if someone doesn't have enough red blood cells in their body, the body t organs wouldn't be properly oxygenated or the body would have to work harder to be fully oxygenated. That's why we want to keep a close eye on that hemoglobin level, especially if you have a patient with increased bleeding or trauma, infection, iron deficiency or vitamin B12 deficiency, maybe kidney disease or cancer, or ulcerative colitis or autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. Those can all lead to anemia. Now, since hemoglobin is measuring the total number of of red blood cells, it is essentially measuring how effectively the blood is going to be able to properly circulate oxygen throughout the body. Now, hemoglobin is only one of the many lab values that you need to know about a nursing school. So I have a free lab values cheat sheet for you that you can keep with you while you study to help you remember all of the normal ranges. So I'm going to put a link to that in the description below for you to snag. And in this video here, I'm going to walk you through the seven key lab values that you have to know about in nursing school so you can be prepared for your exams. And as always, my friend, go become the nurse that God created only you to be, and I will see you over there in that next video.
