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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffMany people with essential thrombocythemia have no signs or symptoms. The first indication you have the disorder may be the development of a blood clot (thrombus). Although clots can develop anywhere in your body, with ET, they occur most often in your brain, hands and feet.
Signs and symptoms depend on where the clot forms. They include:
- Headache
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Chest pain
- Weakness
- Fainting
- Temporary vision changes
- Numbness or tingling of the hands and feet
- Redness, throbbing and burning pain in the hands and feet (erythromelalgia)
- Mildly enlarged spleen
Less commonly, ET may cause bleeding, especially if your platelet count is extremely high (more than 1 million platelets per microliter of blood). Bleeding may take the form of:
- Nosebleeds
- Bruising
- Bleeding from your mouth or gums
- Bloody stool
A blood clot may cause a transient ischemic attack (TIA) — a temporary interruption of blood flow to part of the brain — or stroke. Signs and symptoms develop suddenly and include:
- Weakness or numbness of your face, arm or leg, usually on one side of your body
- Difficulty speaking or understanding speech (aphasia)
- Blurred, double or decreased vision
When to see a doctor
If you have any signs or symptoms of abnormal blood clotting or bleeding, see your doctor.
If you develop signs or symptoms of a TIA or stroke, such as numbness or paralysis on one side of your body, seek medical attention immediately.
- Thrombocythemia. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec14/ch178/ch178d.html. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Tefferi A. Diagnosis and clinical manifestations of essential thrombocythemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- What are thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/thrm/thrm_all.html. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Tefferi A. Myeloproliferative disorders: Essential thrombocythemia and primary myeolfibrosis. In: Goldman L, et al, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/206064361-4/1014199238/1492/658.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50182-8--cesec8_7943. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Essential or primary thrombocythemia. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1178803674.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Chronic myeloproliferative disorders treatment (PDQ): Patient version. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/myeloproliferative/patient/allpages/print. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Vannucchi A, et al. Advances in understanding and management of myeoloproliferative neoplasms. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2009;59:171.
- Finazzi G, et al. Essential thrombocythemia. In: Hoffman R, et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06715-0..50073-X&uniq=206064361&isbn=978-0-443-06715-0&sid=1014199238. Accessed June 17, 2010.
- Tefferi A. Prognosis and treatment of essential thrombocythemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 12, 2010.
- Myeloproliferative disorders. Lab Tests Online. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/myelopro_disorders-3.html#. Accessed June 17, 2010.
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