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Dealing
with anemia can improve heart function and the ability to
exercise in those suffering from congestive heart failure
(CHF), according to a University of North Carolina cardiologist.
But first,
according to Dr. Kirkwood F. Adams Jr., anemia has to shed
its long-neglected image and be recognized as the contributor
that it is to problems associated with CHF.
Although
many physicians have questioned whether moderate anemia in
CHF patients needs to be treated, Adams said recent studies
have suggested that anemia adversely affects heart function
and contributes to systemic changes, including impaired kidney
function.
Speaking
at an American Medical Association briefing June 6th in New
York City, Adams said clinical trials have indicated that
among hospitalized heart attack victims, depression of hemoglobin,
even to a limited degree, was linked to increased mortality.
Adams
said two recent small and preliminary studies have shown that
hemoglobin increased in patients treated with erythropoietin
and that those patients' ability to exercise improved. He
said one study even suggested that the drug could cut time
spent in the hospital.
Working
with the drug company Amgen, Adams and colleagues have begun
studying the effects of anemia on patients' physical activity
and fatigue, how hormones affect anemia and quality-of-life
issues.
"This
focus on anemia is new, and it is definitely worth investigating
because we believe it may make a difference with many congestive
heart failure patients, and results so far have been encouraging,"
Adams said.
Source:
Heart
Disease Week of June 9, 2002
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