[The cardio-renal anemia syndrome: what is it? With a focus on congestive heart failure].

The cardio-renal anemia syndrome describes how the three conditions congestive heart failure, chronic kidney insufficiency and anemia form a vicious circle in which each condition is capable of causing or being caused by another. As the prevalence of congestive heart failure is steadily rising, it must be expected that more patients will develop this syndrome. The optimal treatment for patients with the cardio-renal anemia syndrome is yet to be determined, but new trials, in which patients were treated with erythropoietin and intravenous iron, promise a better outcome for these patients in the future.