Red Cell Indices in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure at the Cardiology Unit, Jos University Teaching Hospital, North Central Nigeria

This study evaluates red cell indices in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) at the cardiology unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Plateau State, North Central Nigeria. Anaemia is a common comorbidity in heart failure that independently worsens functional capacity and prognosis, and characterising red cell morphology helps clarify its aetiology in this population. A cross-sectional case-control study enrolled 100 CHF patients classified by New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Red cell parameters including haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were assessed. Serum iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation, and erythropoietin levels were measured. Anaemia was present in 55 percent of CHF patients overall, rising to 72 percent in NYHA class IV patients. Normocytic normochromic anaemia was the predominant pattern (48%), followed by microcytic hypochromic morphology (27%). RDW was significantly elevated in CHF patients compared to controls and correlated inversely with ejection fraction. Iron deficiency (absolute or functional) was identified as the primary correctable cause in 39 percent of anaemic CHF patients. The study recommends systematic anaemia evaluation and correction as part of heart failure management at JUTH, with intravenous iron supplementation considered in iron-deficient patients with NYHA class III to IV limitation. Keywords: chronic heart failure, anaemia, red cell indices, red cell distribution width, Jos.