Influence of HIF-1α rs11549465 polymorphism on hemoglobin and lactate levels in cardiovascular surgery patients

Introduction: Perioperative anemia is a common complication of cardiovascular surgery. Patients who present the T allele of the HIF-1α rs11549465 polymorphism may have altered hemoglobin and lactate levels before, during and after surgery, compared to the wild-type allele, due to an increased stability of HIF-1 α caused by this allele. Objective: To describe the frequency of the T allele in patients scheduled for cardiovascular surgery, and its relationship with hemoglobin and lactate levels. Materials and methods: DNA was isolated from 84 cardiovascular surgery patients for genotyping by Sanger sequencing. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected. Results: The frequency of the T allele was 0.066 (95%CI: 0.037-0.114). No significant differences were observed in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative hemoglobin and lactate levels between patients with the T allele and those with the wild- type allele. Conclusion: The frequency of the T allele is lower than expected according to other studies in healthy volunteers. No significant differences were observed in some Asian populations, nor in a group of acute myocardial infarction patients. Apparently, rs11549465 genotyping in cardiovascular surgery patients is not a valid risk stratification method for anemia in this group.