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(Circulation. 2003;107:e9004.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Erythropoietin—Not at the Olympics but Maybe for Anemic Heart Failure Patients

Erythropoietin increased the exercise duration, peak oxygen consumption, and hemoglobin of patients with anemic heart failure in a study reported in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2003;107:294–299) by researchers from the Department of Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

The drug has been banned from amateur athletics as performance enhancing, but physicians led by Donna Mancini, MD, attempted to determine if it could help patients who have chronic heart failure who are also anemic. In this study, 26 anemic patients aged 57±11 years were randomized to 15 000 to 30 000 IU of erythropoietin or a placebo each week for 3 months.

Twelve patients in the group that received erythropoietin reported feeling improved versus 1 in the placebo group. Hemoglobin increased in the erythropoietin group as did peak oxygen consumption and exercise duration. There was no significant change in the placebo group.

The authors wrote: "Correction of anemia with EPO [erythropoietin] is well tolerated in CHF patients. It increases Hb [hemoglobin] and exercise capacity in these patients. . . . One mechanism of the improvement in VO₂ with EPO therapy is the increased oxygen delivery from increased Hb concentration."

Statins Have Effect on C-Reactive Protein and Cytomegalovirus
Statins appeared to reduce mortality among patients with coronary artery disease who have evidence of cytomegalovirus infection and high levels of C-reactive protein, according to researchers from the Latter Days Saints Hospital Cardiovascular Department in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a report in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2003;107:220–222).

In the . . . [Full Text of this Article]