©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Red blood cell distribution width in heart failure: A narrative review
Giuseppe Lippi, Section of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Verona, Verona 37134, Italy
Gianni Turcato, Department of Emergency, Girolamo Fracastoro Hospital, San Bonifacio 37047, Italy
Gianfranco Cervellin, Department of Emergency, University Hospital of Parma, Parma 43126, Italy
Fabian Sanchis-Gomar, Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, United States
Fabian Sanchis-Gomar, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia and INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute, Valencia 46010, Spain
Author contributions: Lippi G and Sanchis-Gomar F generated the tables and figures, and wrote the manuscript; Turcato G and Cervellin G contributed to editing, reviewing, and final approval of the article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Correspondence to: Giuseppe Lippi, MD, Professor, Section of Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. giuseppe.lippi@univr.it
Telephone: +39-45-8124308
Received: January 7, 2018
Peer-review started: January 8, 2018
First decision: January 23, 2018
Revised: January 23, 2018
Accepted: February 5, 2018
Article in press: February 5, 2018
Published online: February 26, 2018
Processing time: 49 Days and 17 Hours
Peer-review started: January 8, 2018
First decision: January 23, 2018
Revised: January 23, 2018
Accepted: February 5, 2018
Article in press: February 5, 2018
Published online: February 26, 2018
Processing time: 49 Days and 17 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: The red blood cell distribution width is a simple, rapid, inexpensive and straightforward hematological parameter, reliably reflecting the degree of anisocytosis in vivo. The current epidemiological and biological evidence suggests that longitudinal assessment of red blood cell distribution width over time may be considered an efficient measure to help predicting the risk of both development and progression of heart failure.