Structure of Anemic Syndrome in Patients with Chronic Forms of Coronary Artery Disease

The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and characteristic features of anemia in elderly and senile patients with chronic forms of coronary artery disease. Materials and methods. 1,993 case reports of patients with chronic forms of coronary artery disease with comorbid anemia were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were diagnosed with chronic coronary artery disease (stable angina pectoris of II-III functional classes, diffuse or focal (post-infarction) cardiosclerosis). Average age of investigated patients was 79.5 ± 5.24. Comorbid anemia was diagnosed in case of hemoglobin level below 130 G/l in males and 120 G/l in females. The patients were randomized by gender, age and form of coronary artery disease. Results and discussion. Among all examined patients with coronary artery disease anemia is found in nearly 70% of cases, which coincides with the literature data. In people after 60 anemia is more common in men than in women, while in young and middle-aged patients anemic syndrome is more typical in females. Only in less than hundred case reports the diagnosis of anemia was recorded in the final clinical diagnosis during patients’ discharge from the hospital, in another cases low hemoglobin level was not taken into consideration by physicians. Approximately only one-third of all cases of severe anemia was not diagnosed in a hospital and no appropriate correction of hemoglobin level was performed. Incidence of anemia does not depend on the form of the chronic coronary artery disease (stable angina pectoris or cardiosclerosis). In most patients with coronary artery disease comorbid anemia is of normochromic and normocytic character. Along with progression of the severity of the comorbid anemia, statistically significant increase of the hospitalization period is observed. In patients with coronary artery disease and comorbid anemia the frequency of hospitalizations per year is also increased along with anemia degree of severity progressing. Conclusion. Chronic forms of coronary artery disease in elderly and senile patients in 69.89% of cases are complicated by comorbid anemia of different degrees of severity. In older patients with coronary artery disease, anemic syndrome is most often caused by respiratory diseases, stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer, cancer of different localization. In most patients with coronary artery disease comorbid anemia is of normochromic and normocytic character. Comorbid anemia in patients with coronary artery disease contributes to the prolongation of the patients’ in-hospital treatment and increasing of the frequency of hospitalizations due to the main disease throughout the year