Prevalence of Anemia in Heart Failure Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess the prevalence of anemia in patients with heart failure (HF) admitted to a tertiary care hospital and to highlight its clinical significance in disease severity and management. Methodology: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted over a six-month period (29th September 2023 to 29th March 2024), based on the availability of complete clinical and laboratory records. A total of 126 heart failure patients aged 40–80 years were included. Anemia was defined according to WHO criteria as hemoglobin levels <12 g/dL in females and <13 g/dL in males. Hemoglobin was measured once upon admission. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24, with chi-square and t-tests applied to assess statistical significance. Results: Anemia was present in 64 patients (50.8%). The mean hemoglobin level in anemic patients was 9.0 g/dL (±1.7 SD), and 13.6 g/dL (±0.8 SD) in non-anemic patients (p=0.0001). NYHA Class II was the most prevalent (38.1%), followed by Class III (29.4%), Class I (19.8%), and Class IV (12.7%). A significant association was observed between anemia and increasing NYHA class severity (χ² = 8.92, p = 0.0028). Anemia was slightly more prevalent in females (55.2%) than in males (47.1%), though this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Anemia is a common comorbidity in heart failure and is significantly associated with worsening functional class. These findings support the need for routine hemoglobin screening and targeted interventions in HF management to improve clinical outcomes.