Prevalência de anemia e insuficiência renal em portadores de insuficiência cardíaca n？o-hospitalizados

background: heart failure (hf) is a common disease with a high rate of mortality. anemia and renal failure (rf) are often found in patients with hf associated with higher severity of the heart disease and a worse prognosis. objective: to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and rf, as well as the association between these two conditions, in non-hospitalized patients with hf. methods: patients treated at the hf outpatient clinic of a university hospital were followed from july 2003 to november 2006. anemia was defined as hemoglobin levels < 13 mg/dl for men and 12 mg/dl for women. renal function was assessed by the glomerular filtration rate (gfr), calculated by the simplified formula of the mdrd (modification of diet in renal disease) study. results: of the 345 patients included in this study, 26.4% (n = 91) had anemia and 29.6% had moderate to severe renal failure (gfr < 60 ml/min). the association between anemia and a higher prevalence of renal failure was statistically significant (41.8% vs. 25.2%; p = 0.005). the patients at functional class iii and iv presented a higher incidence of anemia (39.0% vs. 19.4%; p <0.001) and renal failure (38.2% vs. 24.8%; p = 0.007). no association was observed between anemia or renal failure and history of hypertension, diabetes, systolic function or etiology of hf. conclusion: the prevalence of anemia and renal failure was high in this population and was associated with the severity of the hf (functional classes iii and iv).