Association of admission and discharge anemia status with outcomes in patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure: Differences between patients with preserved and reduced ejection fraction

Background: In acute decompensated heart failure patients with a preserved or reduced ejection fraction, the association of admission and discharge anemia status with outcomes remains unclear. Methods and results: Of the 4842 patients enrolled in the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Syndromes (ATTEND) registry, 4433 patients (2017 with a preserved and 2416 with a reduced ejection fraction) were examined to investigate associations among the anemia status at admission and discharge (no anemia, developed anemia, resolved anemia, or persistent anemia), a preserved or reduced ejection fraction and the primary endpoint (all-cause death and readmission for heart failure). In the preserved ejection fraction group, adjusted analysis showed that either developed or persistent anemia was associated with a significantly higher risk of the primary endpoint relative to no anemia (hazard ratio: 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–2.11; p=0.009 and hazard ratio: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.26–2.04; p<0.001, respectively), but there was no association between resolved anemia and the primary endpoint (hazard ratio: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.67–1.45; p=0.937). In the reduced ejection fraction group, either developed or resolved anemia was associated with a tendency toward higher risk of the primary endpoint relative to no anemia (hazard ratio: 1.29; 95% CI: 0.95–1.62; p=0.089, and hazard ratio: 1.31; 95% CI: 0.96–1.77; p=0.085, respectively), while persistent anemia was associated with a significantly higher risk of the primary endpoint relative to no anemia (hazard ratio: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.12–1.65; p=0.002). Conclusions: In acute decompensated heart failure patients, the association of admission and discharge anemia status with outcomes differs markedly between patients with a preserved or reduced ejection fraction.