Anemia e insuficiência cardíaca na comunidade: compara？？o com um ambulatório especializado

background: anemia is common in patients with heart failure (hf). its prevalence in patients with hf from a community-based cohort is unknown in our country. objective: evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of patients with anemia in a non-selected population with hf from a community-based cohort, comparing it with that of a hf population treated at a specialized outpatient clinic. methods: this was a transversal, prospective, observational study, carried out from january 2006 to march 2007. the patients with hf met the boston criteria, with a score > 8. anemia was defined through the criteria of the world health organization as hemoglobin levels < 13 g/dl for men and <12 g/dl for women. patients treated at a primary care program in the community were randomly selected, as well as patients treated at a heart failure outpatient clinic in a university hospital. results: a total of 206 patients were assessed, with a mean age of 61.3±13.1 years, of which 53.4% were females. the prevalence of anemia in the community-based cohort (n=114) was 21% and at the outpatient clinic (n=92), of 25% (p=0.50). the patients from the community-based cohort presented a lower rate of kidney dysfunction (gfr<60 ml/min/1,73-5), predominance of hf with normal ejection fraction and female sex. kidney function parameters (urea or creatinine) independently correlated with anemia in both populations. conclusion: the prevalence of anemia was similar in the studied populations. kidney function was the only factor that independently correlated with anemia in both populations.