Hemoglobin levels and 30-day mortality in patients after myocardial infarction

Background: Anemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure. However, the effect of hemoglobin levels on short-term CV mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) remains unclear. Methods: In a retrospective study we analyzed 1841 consecutive patients admitted with the diagnosis of acute MI. The primary end-point of the study was 30-day mortality. Patients were categorized according to the hemoglobin level on admission (10 g/dl or less, or greater than 10 g/dl). Results: The overall 30-day mortality was 10.3%. The mortality was 21.6% in patients with hemoglobin levels on admission <= 10 g/dl and 9.3% in patients with hemoglobin levels > 10 g/dl (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed, that lower hemoglobin concentration is an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, when adjusted for other risk factors (HR 1.76, CI 1.08-2.85; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Lower levels of hemoglobin are associated with higher short-term mortality in patients with acute MI. Specific therapeutic strategies in anemic patients with MI should be further considered. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.