title: Anemia and heart failure: a cause of progression or only a consequence?
abstract: Anemia is one of the most frequent co-morbidities in the patients with heart failure. Its prevalence increases from 4-7% in the subjects with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction to >30% in the patients with severe heart failure. Renal insufficiency, activation of inflammatory mediators, and treatment with renin-angiotensin antagonists seem to be its main determinants. The results of many studies agree in showing that anemia is a powerful independent determinant of survival in patients with heart failure. However, the mechanisms of this relation are still incompletely understood. Moreover a favourable effect on prognosis of the correction of anemia has not been shown, yet, and also controlled studies assessing its effects on exercise tolerance have yielded controversial results.
authors: Section of Cardiovascular Diseases Department of Experimental and Applied Medicine, University of Brescia - Spedali Civili, Brescia - Italy.
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Metra
authors: Savina
authors: S
authors: Nodari
authors: Tania
authors: T
authors: Bordonali
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Bugatti
authors: Benedetta
authors: B
authors: Fontanella
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Lombardi
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Saporetti
authors: Giulia
authors: G
authors: Verzura
authors: Rossella
authors: R
authors: Danesi
authors: Livio
authors: L
authors: Dei Cas