What are the short-term and long-term consequences of anaemia in CRF patients?

There is a clear relationship between anaemia and cardiovascular risk in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is present in about three-quarters of patients starting dialysis, and is a strong predictor of mortality. Anaemia contributes to the development of LVH, mainly via increased cardiac output. In some patients, anaemia results in an increase in LV mass, while in others it also results in LV end-diastolic volume dilatation. These changes increase the risk of arrhythmias, myocardial infarction and myocardial fibrosis. The lower the haemoglobin, the more likely it is that LVH and heart failure will develop. Furthermore, a haemoglobin of < 11 g/dl is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Partial correction of anaemia with epoetin leads to a partial, but not complete, reversal of LVH. One large prospective study (Lombardy Registry) found that epoetin treatment was accompanied by a 30% reduction in crude relative risk of mortality. A progressive reduction in the relative risk of general and cardiovascular mortality was found with increasing haematocrit, with and without adjustment for co-morbid conditions. Mean hospitalizations also decreased with increasing haematocrit. The long-term effects of normalized haematocrit/haemoglobin values in uraemic patients have not yet been evaluated exhaustively in prospective, randomized, multicentre studies. Epoetin treatment has been shown to induce lasting improvements in patients' sense of well-being, reduce fatigue, increase appetite and work capacity, and improve exercise tolerance, libido and work performance. Further studies are needed to demonstrate whether greater haemoglobin concentrations are associated with greater improvements in quality of life during epoetin treatment.