Which condition is characterized by a lack of enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body's tissues?

• A. Anemia
• B. Angina
• C. Ambulation
• D. Alzheimer's

Answer: (A)

Oxygen delivery to body tissues relies on healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen through hemoglobin. When there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin is low, tissues don’t receive enough oxygen. That’s what anemia is: a shortage of red blood cells or hemoglobin leading to reduced oxygen transport. You’d expect symptoms like fatigue, weakness, pale skin, shortness of breath, and sometimes dizziness because the body is trying to compensate for the oxygen shortfall. By contrast, angina is chest pain from the heart muscle not getting enough blood due to narrowed arteries, which is a heart circulation issue, not a lack of red blood cells. Ambulation refers to the ability to walk, and Alzheimer's is a progressive brain disease; neither describes a defect in oxygen-carrying capacity. So the described condition is anemia.