Blood transfusions can help save heart attack patients with anemia: Study

Blood transfusions

can be

life saving

for people with

anemia

following a

heart attack

, reveals a study published in

NEJM Evidence

. The researchers found out that anemia patients who received more blood transfusions showed a slightly reduced risk of death within six months of the heart attack, compared to those who received less of it.
“The results of this analysis show that giving more blood to anemic patients with heart attacks can save lives at six months,” lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Carson, chair of general internal medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said in a news release.

Anemia and heart health

Anemia is found in about one-third of all cases of

congestive heart failure

(CHF). It can raise your risk of a heart attack. In case of anemia, a person’s blood can’t transport enough oxygen to the rest of the body. This can cause the heart to pump more blood to compensate for low oxygen levels, which can lead to an irregular or rapid heartbeat (arrhythmia). This can eventually lead to

heart failure

or an enlarged heart.

Anemia is common among people hospitalized with a heart attack, said Carson.
“Some doctors have speculated that blood transfusions might increase the amount of oxygen to the heart, improving heart attack patients’ chances of survival,” Carson said.

Risks of transfusions

However, transfusions are not without its own share of risks and in some cases it may increase the risk of infection or fluid buildup.

Findings of the study

For this review, data of 4,300 patients of heart attack and low blood count (signalling anemia) from four clinical trials was evaluated regarding transfusions. Half of the patients were given more blood transfusions than the other half.

It was found that about 9.3% of patients who got fewer blood transfusions died within 30 days of their heart attack. Only 8.1% of patients who were treated with more transfusions died.

When it came to heart-related death within 30 days, it occurred in the case of 5.5% of patients with fewer transfusions and 3.7% of patients who had more, as per this study.
Also, the risk of death or a second heart attack was about 2.4% lower in patients who got more blood transfusions, researchers found.
However, the results aren’t enough to establish the role of more transfusions in preventing deaths in heart attack patients with anemia.
(Picture courtesy: iStock)