Background: Heart failure (HF) has become a high-priority health problem due to the high rates of associated morbidity and mortality. HF is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and readmissions. One-third of all patients with HF have anemia, and its presence is associated with more symptoms and impaired functional capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate if anemia is associated with rehospitalization among these patients.
Methodology: For this cross-sectional study, we included 787 patients who had been admitted with a diagnosis of HF during the period from 1st March 2011 till 30th December 2018 at the Madinah Cardiac Centre. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were reviewed from electronic medical records. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine the association between anemia and rehospitalization.
Results: The median age of the study population was 64 years, 72.6% were male, 46.9% were hypertensive, 55% were diabetic, and 20.3% were current smokers. The overall prevalence of anemia was 35.3% (32.7% and 42.1% in males and females, respectively). Patients with anemia alone and those with both anemia and renal dysfunction (RD) had a lower rate of recurrent admissions than patients with neither RD nor anemia (p = 0.007, p = 0.009 respectively). However, no statistical significance was reached, with multivariate analysis (Odds Ratio 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-1.21; p = 0.193).
Conclusion: The presence of anemia with or without RD on admission was not associated with rehospitalization among patients with HF.
Key words: Anemia, Heart Failure, Rehospitalization, Renal Dysfunction
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