New Jersey [US]: A study conducted by Rutgers Health has found that providing more blood transfusions to anemic patients after a heart attack could significantly reduce mortality rates and improve outcomes. The study, led by Jeffrey L. Carson, provost and Distinguished Professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, corroborates findings from a 2023 study that showed anemic heart attack patients who received less blood had higher mortality rates and a greater likelihood of recurrent heart attacks.
The 2023 MINT trial (Myocardial Infarction and Transfusion) had already indicated that patients who received fewer blood transfusions had worse outcomes. Building on that research, Carson conducted a subsequent study combining data from multiple trials to refine the treatment effects. This new analysis, which included data from four clinical trials involving 4,311 patients, aimed to determine the effect of varying amounts of blood transfusions on anemic heart attack patients. Half of the patients received fewer transfusions, while the other half received more.
The trials assessed the frequency of death or recurrent heart attacks at 30 days and at six months. The results, recently published in NEJM Evidence, revealed that while the data didn’t definitively show that fewer blood transfusions led to higher mortality or more heart attacks at 30 days, it did suggest that giving less blood increased the risk of death at six months.
The study found a 2.4% lower frequency of death or recurrent heart attacks at 30 days when a more liberal (higher) blood transfusion approach was used. Carson emphasized, “The results of this analysis show that giving more blood to anemic patients with heart attacks can save lives at six months.”
The patients in the clinical trial were older, with an average age of 72, and many had pre-existing conditions such as heart failure, diabetes, and kidney disease. The research was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health. Carson has spent nearly two decades researching optimal blood transfusion strategies and played a key role in shaping transfusion guidelines. These guidelines, initially established in 2012, were updated last year to emphasize an individualized approach for both adults and children, considering patients’ underlying medical issues, preferences, and symptoms.