title: Anemia in heart failure: an overview of current concepts.
abstract: Chronic heart failure is a substantial public health problem. Anemia is an important comorbidity frequently observed in patients with the disease and, in heart failure, anemia has only recently started to attract systematic epidemiological and therapeutical research endeavor. This article describes the many aspects of anemia in chronic heart failure, starting with the ongoing discussion of how to define anemia, which has important consequences for the estimation of its prevalence and incidence. Further, we discuss prognostic implications of anemia in patients with chronic or acute heart failure, the etiology of anemia in heart failure and treatment possibilities. Such therapeutic avenues embrace intravenous iron preparations and subcutaneous administration of erythropoietin and its derivatives, all of which have been extensively studied over the last several years. Finally, this article describes the potential costs incurred by treating anemic patients with heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Applied Cachexia Research, Department of Cardiology, Charité Medical School, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany. stephan.von.haehling@web.de
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: von Haehling
authors.forename: Ewa A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jankowska
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ponikowski
authors.forename: Stefan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Anker
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D000068256:Darbepoetin alfa; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006397:Hematinics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D058085:Iron Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008320:Maltose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; D006397:Hematinics; D058085:Iron Compounds; D004921:Erythropoietin; D000068256:Darbepoetin alfa; C522335:ferric carboxymaltose; D008320:Maltose