Anemia makes heart failure more deadly

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The results of a review study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology indicates that anemia, a deficiency of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, increases the risk of death in patients with chronic heart failure.

Dr. Peter van der Meer, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues reviewed previously published studies to examine the effect of anemia on death in heart failure patients.

Of 1,327 eligible studies, 34 were included in the review. These studies included a total of 153,180 patients. Anemia, which was diagnosed with blood tests using standard criteria, was present in 37.2 percent of the heart failure patients. The patients were followed for up to 5 years after anemia was identified.

Overall, 46.8 percent of heart failure patients with anemia died during follow-up compared with 29.5 percent of their non-anemic peers. Final analysis revealed that anemic patients were 46 percent more likely to die than non-anemic patients.

"Therapeutic strategies aimed to (reduce anemia) in heart failure should be investigated," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, September 2008.