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.