Milan, March 9, 2023 – Everyone, but especially those who suffer heart failurewe have to monitor iron levels in our body. In patients with the disease “Ctired heart”, you point to lack of iron behaves a worse prognosis. This is why it is very important diagnose and treat it per reduce the risk of mortality.
The recommendation comes from the experts of the Monzino Cardiology Center (Ccm) of Milan, which in a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology explain how functional iron deficiency is “a prognostic factor for heart failure, which helps to predict the evolution of the disease and allows it to be treated better” .
Research
The authors recruited 800 patients diagnosed with heart failure admitted to the Irccs Ccm, who were followed up for 5 years with the aim of evaluating the relationship between iron deficiency and mortality. It is known – recalled Monzino – that anemia and iron deficiency are risk factors for hospitalization and mortality in patients with heart failure. In fact, it is estimated that anemia, which means low blood hemoglobin values, affects 53-58% of patients with heart failure, while iron deficiency, defined as insufficient availability of iron for the needs of the whole organism, is present in 60-70% of patients.
The iron deficiency
“Iron deficiency, if defined exclusively according to the criteria of the international guidelines, does not always make it possible to identify among all patients with heart failure those at higher risk and who therefore, more than others, benefit from iron supplementation – says PIergiuseppe Agostoni, coordinator of the study, director of the Department of Critical and Rehabilitative Cardiology of the Ccm and full professor of Cardiovascular Diseases at the State University of Milan – Thanks to our studies, we have identified which parameters are able to identify this subgroup of patients more high risk.”
Ferretina parameters
These are patients with a functional iron deficiency, i.e. – clarifies the specialist – patients with ferritin values between 100 and 300 mcg/L and transferrin saturation (the protein that carries iron in the blood) below 20 %”. “In practice – Augustoni continues – in these people the availability of iron is insufficient for the performance of cellular functions, first of all the production of energy, even if globally they have adequate iron deposits. In fact, so that the amount of iron does not negatively affect the severity of the disease, there must be enough of it, both stationary in deposits and ‘in circulation’, i.e. available to all the cells in the body that need it.
Worst prognosis
Another important aspect to take into consideration – adds the cardiologist – is that the worst prognosis associated with functional deficit is most likely caused by the presence of a chronic inflammatory state. This observation changes the way we view decompensation, which can also manifest itself as an inflammatory disease.”
Do blood tests
“At Monzino – remarked Agostoni – we measure the iron structure of all patients. The clinical message of our work is therefore first of all a recommendation to all specialized centers to carry out the blood tests necessary to identify any deficiency. We also recall that in the presence of functional iron deficiency there are already targeted drugs, such as ferrocarboxymaltose, which can be administered intravenously. An appropriate diagnosis can therefore save the lives of many patients and improve their quality”.