Anemia with Red Cell Indices among Patients Suffering from Chronic Cardiac Failure Admitted at Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF), is a progressive condition characterized by the heart's inability to effectively pump blood throughout the body. It is a leading contributor to mortality globally, presenting substantial difficulties in clinical care. Anemia, commonly coexists with chronic cardiac failure and is associated with poorer outcomes and increased mortality rates. Additionally, abnormalities in red blood cell (RBC) indices further complicate the clinical picture, posing challenges in diagnosis and management. Objective: To determine the relationship between the severity of chronic cardiac failure and the severity of anemia, as evidenced by abnormalities in red cell indices. Study Design: Prospective observational study. Settings: Cardiology department of peoples University of Medical and health Sciences, Nawab Shah Pakistan. Duration: Six months from January 2022 to June 2022. Methods: Patients aged 18 years or old, both gender and diagnosed as the cases of chronic heart failure were included. Chronic heart failure was classified to categorize the severity of heart failure based on the level of symptoms and limitations experienced by the patient during physical activities. A 5ml blood sample was obtained from each participant via venipuncture and collected in a tube for complete blood count (CBC) tests. All the information was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: A total of 109 patients of chronic heart failure were studied with an overall average age of 61.44+14.28 years. Males were 57.8% and females were 42.2%. Frequency of anemia was 47.7% in chronic heart failure patients, while statistically insignificant according to severity of HF (p-0.202). Average hemoglobin (HB) levels for heart failure (HF) classifications class I - class IV were 14.45 g/dl, 12.41 g/dl, 11.82 g/dl, and 11.30 g/dl, respectively. Furthermore, p-values indicated the statistical insignificance of the observed variations between HF classifications for each parameter (p->0.05). Conclusion: Anemia among patients of chronic heart failure found to be the highly frequent 47.7%. The average levels of hemoglobin and red blood cell indices showed no significant variation across different severities of chronic heart failure.