Prevalence of iron deficiency in patients with heart failure

Abstract EN

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a common health issue with the prevalence between 1% and 2% in public; in addition, it is a major risk factor for mortality, morbidity, and low quality of life.

The prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) in patients with chronic HF (CHF) was examined in the present study.

Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional, iron parameters of patients hospitalized for CHF decompensation were prospectively assessed within the 72 h following admission to hospital.

ID was established as serum ferritin <100 µg/ml (absolute ID) and serum ferritin between 100 and 299 µg/ml with transferrin saturation <20% (functional ID) in accordance with the European Society of Cardiology HF Guidelines 2012.

Results: The present study showed that the prevalence of absolute and functional iron deficiencies in patients with CHF was 44.9% and 18.8%, respectively, and 36.2% did not have the ID.

The study did not find a significant difference in ID between male and female patients and between the patients with and without comorbidities.

Conclusions: The present study suggests that ID is very common in patients admitted for CHF.