Frequency of Anemia in Patients Admitted with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure in Tertiary Care Cardiac Hospital

Introduction: Anemia is one of the potential comorbid condition in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) which is linked to higher morbidity and mortality rates. Worldwide, its prevalence ranges from 4% to >70% in hospitalized patients with ADHF. Unfortunately data is lacking from our region and hence we aimed to conduct this study to scientifically fill the present gap by evaluating the actual burden of anemia in patients hospitalized with ADHF in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan.

Patients and Methods: This was a hospital based study conducted in the Department of Cardiology, Tabba Heart Institute, Karachi From 1st November 2019 to 30th April 2020. A total of 203 patients with ADHF with age >35 years and <80 years were selected. A blood sample was taken to determine the hemoglobin levels and hemoglobin (Hb) levels <12.0 g/dL in women and <13.0 g/dL in men were taken as cut-off for anemia.

Results: Overall mean and SD of age was 63.70±10.53 years and among them most of were males (n = 116, 57.1%). The overall prevalence of anemia in patients with ADHF was quite high and 63.5% (n = 129). Only three condition, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and current smoking habits had significant association with the occurrence of anemia in patients with ADHF, p value <0.05.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the results showed that anemia is an independent risk for HF. Anemia was observed in one-third of the study population. More prevalent in male gender, elderly patients of age above 60 years, and associated with other comorbids.