Exercise-associated hyponatremia cells in one area begin to increase in size, swelling occurs in the affected area. Swelling is commonly observed in hands, legs, and feet. Sodium is also important in regulating the amount of water that passes through the blood-brain barrier. Decreased sodium blood levels result in increased permeability of water across the blood-brain barrier. This increased influx of water causes brain swelling which leads to severe neurological symptoms. EAH is categorized by having a blood serum or plasma sodium level below normal, which is less than 135 mmol/l. Asymptomatic EAH is not normally detected unless the athlete has had a
Blood sugar level given in terms of whole blood, but most laboratories now measure and report plasma or serum glucose levels. Because red blood cells (erythrocytes) have a higher concentration of protein (e.g., hemoglobin) than serum, serum has a higher water content and consequently more dissolved glucose than does whole blood. To convert from whole-blood glucose, multiplication by 1.14 has been shown to generally give the serum/plasma level To prevent contamination of the sample with intravenous fluids, particular care should be given to drawing blood samples from the arm opposite the one in which an intravenous line is inserted. Alternatively, blood can be