Transfusions for heart patients seen risky

Giving blood transfusions to anemic patients who are hospitalized with severe acute heart pain or a heart attack may increase their risk of dying, according to a new report.

Heart patients are more and more likely to be anemic these days because they undergo more invasive procedures and take more drugs to prevent blood clots.

"Many physicians, upon learning that their heart patients are anemic, will reflexively order a blood transfusion,” Dr. Sunil V. Rao, at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, comments in a University press release. Whether transfusions are helpful or not is unclear.

The investigators analyzed data pooled from three large international trials involving over 24,000 patients with so-called acute coronary syndromes—that is, an impending or actual heart attack. Ten percent of the patients were given blood transfusions while they were hospitalized.

As reported in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, the 30-day mortality rate was 8 percent among those transfused versus 3 percent of those not transfused. The corresponding rates of heart attacks in the two groups were 25 percent versus 8 percent.

After adjusting for various factors, blood transfusions were associated with a nearly four-fold higher risk of dying.

Rao’s group warns that their findings are not sufficient to prompt a change in clinical practice. “Rather, it should be considered as evidence that caution is warranted when making transfusion decisions,” they write.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, October 6, 2004.

RELATED STORIES:
Breatfeeding can cut cardiovascular risk: study   Testosterone Replacement for Men with Low Testosterone Improves Liver Function, Metabolic Syndrome   Indicators for risk of heart disease higher in passive smokers   Red wine ingredient wards off effects of age on heart, bones, eyes and muscle   Most heart attacks easily predictable   With diabetes, women do worse after stenting   New Plan Puts Heart Attacks on Fast Track   Antibiotic interaction may raise heart death risk   Ibuprofen puts high risk cardiac patients at risk   Popular Arthritis Drug May Disrupt Heart Rhythm, UB Research Finds   Heart patients may fare as well with drugs: study   New drug lowers markers of heart attack risk

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]