Volume 25, Issue 112, June 2021

Prevalence of anemia among heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, single center study, Saudi Arabia

Raneem A Alraheili^1♦, Batool K Alsarhan², Leen K Alsarhan³, Asma S Alruwaili⁴, Fayez M Albishi⁵, Alaa A Alraheili⁶, Fatima M Almehmadi⁷, Muhanned M Alqhtani⁵, Turki F Alotaibi⁸, Fatema S Smaisem⁹, Ghazlan A Alhenaki⁹, Shrouq M Alghamdi¹⁰, Jawad I Almuzaini¹¹, Razan A Almuraykhi¹²

¹Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Taibah University, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia
²Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Vision Colleges, Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
³Medical Student, College of Medicine, Al Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University, Al Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁴Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
⁵Medical Student, Collegeof Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
⁶Internal Medicine Resident, Internal Medicine Department, Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Ministry of National Guards Health Affairs, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
⁷PharmD, Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁸General Practitioner, Huraymila General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁹Medical Student, College of Medicine, Almarrefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
¹⁰Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, AlQunfudah, Saudi Arabia
¹¹Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Qassim UyunAljawa, Saudi Arabia
¹²Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Al Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Taibah University, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Heart Failure (HF) has become a significant health problem. It can cause anemia by different pathophysiological mechanisms. The presence of anemia is associated with more symptoms and impaired life functional capacity. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included 1607 patients who had been admitted at Madinah cardiac center with a diagnosis of HF with reduced left ventricular Ejection Fraction (HFrEF) during the period from March 2011 to January 2019. Anemia is defined when Hemoglobin (Hb) level <13 and <12 g/dl in males and females, respectively. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria of anemia, mild anemia was defined when Hb level is 12.9-11 g/dl in males and 11.9-11 g/dl in females; moderate anemia when Hb level is 10.9-8 g/dl and severe anemia when Hb level is<8 g/dl. Results: Of the total 1607 patients included in the analysis, 67% were males, 51% were hypertensive, 52% were diabetic, and 39% had stage III Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). About 56% of patients were anemic, 66% of them had mild anemia, 24% had moderate anemia, and 10% had severe anemia. Mean ± SD of age was 68±11 years in anemic patients compared to 63±11 years in non-anemic patients (p<0.001). Anemic patients were significantly females (p<0.001), Hypertensive (HTN) (p<0.001), had Diabetes Mellitus (DM) (p<0.001), or advanced CKD stage (p=0.020). Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia was 56%. Approximately 66% of patients had mild anemia, 24% had moderate anemia, and 10% had severe anemia. Female genders, presence of HTN, DM, or advanced CKD stage were the factors associated with anemia among HFrEF patients.

Keywords: Anemia, Heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, Hemoglobin

Medical Science, 2021, 25(112), 1469-1476

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