title: Anemia and early mortality in patients with decompensation of chronic heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The possible independent effect of mild-to-moderate anemia (hemoglobin value not <9 g/dl) on the short-term mortality of patients with decompensation of NYHA class III/IV chronic heart failure has not been investigated yet.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 725 consecutive hospitalized patients were studied. All-cause mortalities during hospitalization and by day 31 were the prespecified study end points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 76 (10.5%) and 133 (18.3%) patients died during hospital stay and by day 31 of follow-up, respectively. Patients in the first hemoglobin tertile were at a significantly higher risk of death than those in the second (p = 0.003 and p < 0.001 for unadjusted in-hospital and 31-day mortality, respectively) or third terile (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, for unadjusted in-hospital and 31-day mortality, respectively). However, after adjustment for concomitant baseline comorbidities and biochemical parameters, there was no significant difference in the risk of death among hemoglobin tertiles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mild-to-moderate anemia seems not to contribute independently to short-term mortality in patients with decompensation of NYHA class III/IV chronic heart failure. An adverse concomitant baseline risk profile may have a key role in the induction of mild-to-moderate anemia and in the increased risk of death in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tzanio Hospital, Piraeus, Greece. zairis66@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Zairis
authors.forename: Nikolaos G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Patsourakos
authors.forename: Anastassios Theodossis
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Georgilas
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Melidonis
authors.forename: Kyriakos S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Argyrakis
authors.forename: Athanasios A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Prekates
authors.forename: Demetrios Z
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Mytas
authors.forename: Kostas S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Karidis
authors.forename: Pelagia C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Batika
authors.forename: Constantine N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Fakiolas
authors.forename: Stefanos G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Foussas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors