Deleterious impact of mild anemia on survival of young adult patients (age 45 ± 14 years) with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: Data from the Trieste Cardiomyopathies Registry

Aleksova, Aneta; Barbati, Giulia; Merlo, Marco; Stolfo, Davide; Sabbadini, Gastone; Di Lenarda, Andrea; Sinagra, Gianfranco

doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2010.06.001

« Previous Next »Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care
Volume 40, Issue 5 , Pages 454-461, September 2011

Deleterious impact of mild anemia on survival of young adult patients (age 45 ± 14 years) with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: Data from the Trieste Cardiomyopathies Registry

Aneta Aleksova, MD, MSc
- Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Corresponding author: Aneta Aleksova, MD, MSc, Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Via Valdoni 1, 34100 Trieste, Italy.
Giulia Barbati, PhD
- Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Marco Merlo, MD
- Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Davide Stolfo, MD
- Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Gastone Sabbadini, MD
- Department of Clinical Morphological and Technological Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Andrea Di Lenarda, MD, FESC
- Cardiovascular Center, Azienda per i Servizi Sanitari N°1 of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Gianfranco Sinagra, MD, FESC
- Cardiovascular Department, “Ospedali Riuniti” and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

published online 19 August 2010.

Abstract

Objective

The study objective was to evaluate the impact of anemia on a large population of young patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who were receiving optimal medical treatment.

Methods

The data of 491 patients with DCM who were enlisted in the Trieste Heart Muscle Disease Registry were analyzed. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin less than 13 g/dL for male patients and less than 12 g/dL for female patients.

Results

At baseline, 13% of our patients were anemic. During the follow-up of 134 ± 56 months, 144 patients died or underwent heart transplantation: 36.5% anemic patients and 28% non-anemic patients (P = .05). Anemia present at baseline was an independent predictor of outcome (hazard ratio = 1.85, P = .014). Serial hemoglobin determinations during the entire follow-up were available in 122 of 428 patients without anemia at baseline. The impact of new-onset anemia was analyzed in this cohort of patients. Forty-seven patients (39%) developed anemia during follow-up. The new onset of anemia was an independent predictor of poor outcome (hazard ratio = 2.85, P = .02).