Transfusing heart attack patients halves risk of death, study finds

Better transfusions for patients after a heart attack can reduce the risk of death, according to the largest global trial ever conducted on this topic, the conclusions of which have just been published in the journal Traffic. The study concerns patients with anemia, a problem that affects one in five patients.

Out of 100,000 heart attacks per year in France, 20,000 people suffer from anemia. Their hemoglobin level is too low, they lack oxygen in the blood, they are therefore more at risk of cardiovascular complications. French researchers from the F Crin Fact network tested two different strategies on two groups of people. In the first group, the patients were given a drip to maintain a correct level of hemoglobin, i.e. eight to ten grams per deciliter of blood. The second group was given more intense transfusions to reach at least ten grams of hemoglobin. The scientists found six months later that in the patients in the second group, the risk of dying from a heart problem had halved compared to the first group.

“The idea is not to transfuse a lot or not to transfuse anymore, it is rather to transfuse until the hemoglobin reaches the ten gram range or more. Keeping the hemoglobin too low in patients who have a heart attack is not good.”explains Professor Tabassome Simon, doctor, pharmacologist at the Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris, co-founder of the Fact research network.

With these results, the management of patients who develop anemia after a heart attack should evolve towards more appropriate transfusions.