Study Suggests Increased Blood Transfusions Can Save Lives in Anemic Heart Attack Patients
New Jersey, December 25 — A recent study conducted by Rutgers Health has found that providing more blood to anemic patients after a heart attack could significantly improve their survival rates. The findings build upon a 2023 trial that revealed patients who received fewer blood transfusions had a higher risk of mortality and recurrent heart attacks.
The study, led by Dr. Jeffrey L. Carson, provost and Distinguished Professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, confirms the results of earlier research. The 2023 MINT (Myocardial Infarction and Transfusion) trial focused on how blood transfusions affected anemic patients following a heart attack. The study highlighted that those who received less blood showed poorer outcomes compared to those who received more.
Following the trial, Dr. Carson and his team sought to deepen their understanding of blood transfusion strategies by combining data from similar trials to provide more accurate treatment estimates. The team collaborated with researchers in France and the U.S. and analyzed data from four clinical trials involving a total of 4,311 heart attack patients who also had low blood counts.
Half of the patients received fewer blood transfusions, while the other half received a higher volume. The trials then compared the frequency of death or recurrent heart attacks at 30 days and six months post-treatment.
Published in NEJM Evidence, the findings from this analysis suggest that while giving less blood did not definitively increase the risk of death or heart attacks at 30 days, it was associated with a higher mortality risk at six months. The original clinical trials included patients who had previously suffered from heart attacks, heart failure, diabetes, or kidney disease, with an average participant age of 72, and nearly half of them were women.
The study showed a modest 2.4% reduction in mortality or recurrent heart attacks when a more liberal blood transfusion approach was used. Although this result was not statistically significant at the 30-day mark, Dr. Carson emphasized that the data strongly indicate that more transfusions can improve patient outcomes over a longer period.
Dr. Carson commented, “The results of this analysis show that giving more blood to anemic patients with heart attacks can save lives at six months.”
Both studies were funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Carson, who has spent nearly two decades researching the effects of red blood cell transfusion strategies, played a pivotal role in the development of transfusion guidelines established in 2012. These guidelines, which were updated last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, emphasize a more individualized approach to treatment, taking into account patients’ underlying health conditions, preferences, and symptoms.
This new study adds weight to the growing body of research suggesting that tailored transfusion strategies could be critical in improving outcomes for heart attack patients with anemia.
