Prevalence of anaemia among patients with heart failure at the Brazzaville University Hospital

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a frequent cause of hospitalisation in cardiology. Its prognosis depends on several risk factors, one of which is anaemia. Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia in patients with heart failure, and evaluate its impact on their prognosis. Methods: This article describes a cross-sectional study with prospective collection of data, carried out from 1 January to 31 December 2010 in the Department of Cardiology at Brazzaville University Hospital, Congo. Patients admitted for heart failure were included. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin level < 12 g/dl for men and < 11 g/dl for women. Results: In total, 130 men (47.8%) and 142 women (52.2%) were recruited, mean age 56.9 +/- 16.5 years. The prevalence of anaemia was 42%. Average levels of haemoglobin were 9.4 +/- 1.8 and 13.8 +/- 4.9 g/dl for the anaemic (A) and non-anaemic (NA) patients, respectively (p = 0.0001). Two hundred and forty-nine patients (91.5%) were in NYHA functional class III-IV. Forty-seven patients (17.3%) were on oral anticoagulation and 15 (5.5%) were on aspirin. The average duration of hospital stay was 19.1 +/- 16.7 days, without a significant difference between the A and NA groups (19.4 +/- 12 vs 18.8 +/- 13.8 days; p = 0.79, respectively). Total mortality rate was 17%, with a significant difference between the A and NA groups (26 vs 10%; p = 0.001). Conclusion: This preliminary study showed a high prevalence of anaemia in patients with heart failure, and it had a negative effect on the prognosis.