Before dwelling into the causes of hemolytic anemia, it is important to understand the clinical presentation of the disease. Hemolytic anemia is associated with the condition, where the red blood cells are destructed at an abnormally fast rate. The excessive breakdown of red blood cells will lead to increased level of bilirubin in the blood leading to jaundice infection.
The causes of haemolytic anemia can be attributed to hereditary factors as well as immune related factors. There are various causes of hemolytic anemia that are caused due to defects in hemoglobin production. Most common symptoms of this disorder are thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. In other cases, there may be a genetic defect that leads to deficiency in the RBC membrane production. This includes inherited sherocytosis and hereditary elliptocytosis. There could be a defective red blood cell metabolism like the pyruvate kinase deficiency and G6PDD.
There are other causes of hemolytic anemia that have been related to several infections, like the cold agglutinin disease that involves the mycoplasma pneumonaie infection. Other causes of hemolytic anemia include hyperspleenism caused due to portal hypertension. Certain cases involving burn victims could also be the causes of hemolytic anemia. Athletes may also suffer from foot strike hemolysis which may lead to a destruction of the red blood cells due to hemolytic anemia.