ABSTRACT
Anemia is prevalent in patients with chronic heart failure and is associated with worse symptoms and poor prognosis. The authors reviewed the charts of all patients (N=467) treated at Texas Heart Institute from January 2000 to October 2003, during which time a clinical protocol offered treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating proteins. Post-treatment, the authors observed a significant increase in mean +/- SD hemoglobin, from 9.9+/-1.1 g/dL to 11.7+/-1.5 g/dL (P<.0001), improvement of renal function (a decrease in mean levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen), and fewer hospital admissions (1.0+/-1.4 vs 1.8+/-1.6; P=.0003) without an increase in adverse clinical events, compared with pretreatment and compared with an untreated control group. These results suggest a potential benefit of anemia treatment with recombinant erythropoiesis-stimulating proteins in patients with chronic heart failure.