Anaemia and renal function in heart failure due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

Background: Anaemia and renal dysfunction are common in patients with heart failure (HF). Most studies involve western cohorts with ischaemic aetiology receiving treatment likely to impair renal function. Aims: To investigate the frequency of anaemia and renal dysfunction and the relationship between the two within a cohort of 163 newly diagnosed Black African idiopathic cardiomyopathy patients prior to commencing HF treatments and compare those findings to those of western HF cohorts. Methods: Single-centre retrospective analysis. Anaemia defined as haemoglobin concentration < 13.0 g/dL for males (n = 85) and < 12 g/dL for females (n = 78). Probable renal dysfunction defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 60 mL/min/1.73 m², using serum creatinine concentrations. Results: The mean age was 48 ± 11 years, 52% were male. Overall, 13.5% of patients were anaemic and 11.8% had evidence of renal dysfunction, while 1.2% had both. Renal dysfunction was significantly more common in older patients (mean age 58 ± 13 vs. 47 ± 10 years: p < 0.001). Conclusion: The frequency of anaemia and renal dysfunction in this cohort was lower than that reported in western HF cohorts. These data infer a more limited relationship between HF, anaemia and renal dysfunction in patients without atherothrombotic disease; hence extrapolation of HF data from the western world to other populations should be interpreted cautiously.