Baseline characteristics of study population
| Healthy controls | CRS, no EPO | CRS, EPO | |
| Age, years | 72.0 (5.9) | 74 (14) | 76 (11) |
| Male sex, n (%) | 15 (75) | 11 (73) | 20 (67) |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 23.3±2.3 | 27±4* | 26±4* |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 127±20 | 124±21 | 125±18 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 79±9 | 67±10* | 65±9* |
| Plasma total cholesterol, mmol/l | 4.8±0.9 | 4.5±1.2 | 4.0±1.1* |
| HDL cholesterol, mmol/l | 1.4±0.4 | 1.0±0.2* | 1.3±0.3 |
| LDL cholesterol, mmol/l | 3.1±0.7 | 2.6±0.8 | 2.1±0.9* |
| Haemoglobin, mmol/l | 8.6 (0.7) | 7.4 (0.6)* | 7.3 (1.1)* |
| Serum EPO level, IU/l | NA | 11.5±6.8 | 11.9±6.0 |
| Estimated creatinine clearance, ml/min | 66 (22) | 30 (31)* | 31 (25)* |
| Serum urea, mmol/l | 5.1 (2.3) | 12.2 (9.5)* | 16.0 (10.6)* |
| NT-proBNP, pg/ml | NA | 1680 (2132) | 2064 (3155) |
| Ejection fraction, % | NA | 46±13 | 43±14 |
| Aetiology CHF, n ischaemic/hypertensive/valvular/other | – | 11/2/2/0 | 17/4/3/6 |
| hsCRP, mg/l | 1.04 (2.53) | 4.59 (7.90) | 5.77 (9.14) |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 0 | 4 (27) | 10 (33) |
| Smoker, n (%) | 6 (30) | 3 (20) | 2 (7) |
| Medication, n (%) | |||
| Statin | 0 | 10 (67) | 21 (70) |
| Angiotensin blocker | 0 | 14 (93) | 27 (90) |
| Beta blocker | 0 | 9 (60) | 20 (67) |
| Aldactone | 0 | 4 (27) | 8 (27) |
| Endothelial dysfunction parameters | |||
| ICAM-1, ng/ml | 213 (56) | 284 (124) | 336 (226)* |
| VCAM-1, ng/ml | 23.3 (4.5) | 97 (80)* | 103 (56)* |
| Thrombomodulin, ng/ml | <0.01 (0.15) | 1.1 (1.2)* | 0.9 (1.7)* |
| eSelectin, ng/ml | 3.32±0.81 | 4.22±1.76 | 4.13±1.23 |
Values are presented as n (number) (%), mean±SD or median (IQR).
↵* ANOVA test: p <0.05 compared to healthy controls; no statistical differences were found between CRS patients in EPO versus no EPO group. NA, not available; CRS, cardiorenal syndrome; HDL/LDL, high/low density lipoprotein; hsCRP, high sensitive C reactive protein; NT-proBNP, N-terminal Pro B-type natriuretic peptide; ICAM-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1.