Management of anemia in patients with congestive heart failure

Anemia is an independent risk factor for adverse patient outcomes. There are no guidelines for management of anemia in patients withcongestive heart failure (CHF), despite itshigh incidence. Four objectives were defined by the International Anemia Management and Clinical Outcomes Expert Panel (AMCO), a multinational group of interdisciplinary experts identified by the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) to: determine the prevalence of anemia in outpatients; to determine the prevalence of hospital-acquired anemia; to assess the impact of anemia management on clinical outcomes such as quality of life and functional status; and to provide recommendations for primary care physicians and specialists for the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of anemia in patients with CHF. Anemia and iron deficiency were confirmed to be highly prevalent in patients with CHF.Intravenous iron therapy improves anemia, cardiac function and exercise tolerance, leading to improvement in quality of life. Anemia management has been demonstrated to be cost-effective.Clinical care pathways to manage anemia inpatients with CHFare recommended as best practicesin order to improve patient outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.