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Cardiorenal Anemia Syndrome: Do Erythropoietin and Iron Therapy Have a Place in the Treatment of Heart Failure?
Efstathios Pagourelias,
Charalambos Koumaras,
Anna Kakafika,
Konstantinos Tziomalos,
Paraskevi Zorou,
Vasilios Gabriel Athyros*,
and
Asterios Karagiannis
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: athyros{at}med.auth.gr.
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Abstract |
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The cardiorenal anemia syndrome in congestive heart failure (CHF) is an independent risk factor for vascular morbidity and mortality. Several factors play a role in the pathogenesis of anemia in CHF, including inflammation, impaired renal function, use of certain antihypertensive or cardioprotective agents, and gastrointestinal or urinary losses of essential hemopoietic factors. Several trials evaluated the effects of administering erythropoietin (EPO) and/or iron to patients with CHF. Even though most of them were uncontrolled studies, their results suggest that EPO treatment might be beneficial in CHF. Nevertheless, more studies are needed and certain issues should be resolved, particularly the optimal hemoglobin level, before EPO can become part of the treatment of patients with CHF.
First published on April 14, 2008, doi:10.1177/0003319708316169
Angiology 2009;60:74.
A more recent version of this article appeared on February 1, 2009
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