Anagrelide-associated Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure in a Patient with Essential Thrombocythemia: A Case Report and Literature Review

Anagrelide is used worldwide to treat essential thrombocythemia (ET) by reducing platelet counts. Cardio-myopathy and heart failure (HF) are rare but serious complications associated with anagrelide use, although no cases were reported during Japanese Phase I to III studies. A 46-year-old, otherwise healthy, Japanese ET patient developed HF with reduced ejection fraction after 18 months of treatment with 1.0-3.5 mg of anagre-lide daily. HF was stabilized with anagrelide withdrawal and guideline-directed HF therapy. The cardiac func-tion returned to normal after six months. This case suggests that anagrelide can cause cardiomyopathy and HF in ET patients, regardless of nationality, comorbid cardiovascular conditions, or therapy duration.

Automated summary

Anagrelide, a medication used to treat essential thrombocythemia, can cause cardiomyopathy and heart failure. A Japanese patient with ET developed heart failure after 18 months of treatment with anagrelide, but the cardiac function returned to normal after discontinuation of the medication and guideline-directed heart failure therapy.