Temporal variations in hematocrit values in patients with left ventricular dysfunction: Relationship with cause-specific mortality and morbidity and optimal monitoring--further insights from SOLVD

Abstract

Background: Anemia is associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure (HF) patients. Currently, the relationship between temporal variations in hematocrit and specific causes of mortality and morbidity, as well as the most appropriate way to monitor changes in hematocrit, is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of changes in hematocrit during follow-up on specific causes of mortality and morbidity in the Studies Of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the SOLVD trials was conducted. Changes in hematocrit were evaluated in two ways: hematocrit as an absolute value at baseline and at each visit, and relative hematocrit variations compared with baseline.

Results: Low absolute hematocrit values during follow-up were associated with cardiovascular (CV), non-CV and HF mortality, HF and non-CV hospitalizations, and cardiac ischemic events (P<0.05 for all end points). Decreases in hematocrit during follow-up compared with baseline were associated with HF hospitalizations (P<0.05) and non-CV death in patients receiving placebo (P=0.01 for interaction).

Conclusions: Hematocrit values during follow-up provide independent prognostic information in patients with HF for both CV and non-CV events. Absolute values of hematocrit are more closely related with outcomes and are therefore more clinically relevant to monitor than relative variations.