Prospective assessment of the occurrence of anemia in patients with heart failure: results from the Study of Anemia in a Heart Failure Population (STAMINA-HFP) Registry.
BACKGROUND
Although a potentially important pathophysiologic factor in heart failure, the prevalence and predictors of anemia have not been well studied in unselected patients with heart failure.


METHODS
The Study of Anemia in a Heart Failure Population (STAMINA-HFP) Registry prospectively studied the prevalence of anemia and the relationship of hemoglobin to health-related quality of life and outcomes among patients with heart failure. A random selection algorithm was used to reduce bias during enrollment of patients seen in specialty clinics or clinics of community cardiologists with experience in heart failure. In this initial report, data on prevalence and correlates of anemia were analyzed in 1,076 of the 1,082 registry patients who had clinical characteristics and hemoglobin determined by finger-stick at baseline.


RESULTS
Overall (n = 1,082), the registry patients were 41% female and 73% white with a mean age (+/-SD) of 64 +/- 14 years (68 +/- 13 years in community and 57 +/- 14 years in specialty sites, P < .001). Among the 1,076 patients in the prevalence analysis, mean hemoglobin was 13.3 +/- 2.1 g/dL (median 13.2 g/dL); and anemia (defined by World Health Organization criteria) was present in 34%. Age identified patients at risk for anemia, with 40% of patients >70 years affected.


CONCLUSIONS
Initial results from the STAMINA-HFP Registry suggest that anemia is a common comorbidity in unselected outpatients with heart failure. Given the strong association of anemia with adverse outcomes in heart failure, this study supports further investigation concerning the importance of anemia as a therapeutic target in this condition.
Department of Medicine and Radiology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. kfa@med.unc.edu
Kirkwood F
KF
Adams
James H
JH
Patterson
John H
JH
Patterson
Ron M
RM
Oren
Mandeep R
MR
Mehra
Christopher M
CM
O'Connor
Ileana L
IL
Piña
Alan B
AB
Miller
Jun R
JR
Chiong
Stephanie H
SH
Dunlap
William G
WG
Cotts
Gary M
GM
Felker
Douglas D
DD
Schocken
Todd A
TA
Schwartz
Jalal K
JK
Ghali
D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors
D006454:Hemoglobins