ANEMIA IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE AND ITS CORRELATION WITH NT-PRO BNP: A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of nutritional of anemia in Heart Failure patients and its correlation with the serum levels of NT-pro BNP. Methods: This is a single-center retrospective observational study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital in south India. Patients admitted to hospital with clinical diagnosis of HF based on validated clinical criteria were included in the study. Anemia was dened as hemoglobin (Hb) <13 g/dl for males and <12 g/dl for females, based on World Health Organization denition. Anemia was classied based on complete Iron prole, including serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity, and transferrin saturation (TSAT). Serum levels of Vit B12 and Folate also assayed. Plasma concentrations of NTpro-BNP levels were assessed and correlated with the above parameters. A total of 100 patients ofResults: HF (69% males and 31% females) were studied. Most of the patients were of high-functional NYHA class ( NYHA Class III 81%) and with Moderate LV systolic Dysfunction (44%). Iron Deciency (ID)anemia was present in 72% patients with 50.4% patients having absolute and 21.6% patients having functional ID. Females were having signicantly higher prevalence of ID than males (80.6% vs 68.1%; p = 0.002). The NTpro-BNP levels in patients with IDA were statistically signicant (with p<0.01) when compared to patients with normal iron levels . Conclusion: This study concludes that ID is much more common in patients with Heart Failure compared to Vit B12 or Folic acid deciency. The NTpro- BNP levels are elevated to much higher values in patients of heart failure with comorbid iron deciency states. Treating ID along with the routine heart failure management may improve the Quality of Life in HF patients.