Skip to main navigation
Skip notifications
Access to POEMs and Essential Evidence Plus will no longer be included in CMA membership as of Dec. 1, 2023.
Search
Iron supplementation may be beneficial in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency
Clinical Question
Is iron supplementation effective to reduce symptoms and hospitalizations in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency anemia?
Bottom line
Based on limited study, it looks like intravenous iron supplementation might be useful to decrease hospitalizations and improve quality of life in patients with heart failure who have iron deficiency anemia. 1a-
Reference
Study design: Meta-analysis (randomized controlled trials)
Funding: Foundation
Setting: Outpatient (specialty)
Synopsis
Iron deficiency is common in patients with heart failure and increases in likelihood with severity of disease. The authors searched three databases, including Cochrane CENTRAL, identifying 10 English-language randomized trials enrolling a total of 1404 patients. Two authors independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data. Most of the studies used weekly intravenous iron supplementation and ranged in duration from 2 weeks to one year. In 5 studies of 1007 patients, hospitalization rates were significantly lower with iron supplementation (odds ratio [OR] .39; 95% CI .19 - .80) though mortality was not. Quality of life scores were higher with treatment. Cardiac output and peak oxygen consumption were also increased. There was no significant heterogeneity among the studies or evidence of publication bias. However, we need more research into the role of iron; many of these studies had a high risk of bias and were of a short duration. Note the more aggressive approach used in these studies -- many of the studies used weekly intravenous iron supplementation.
Reviewer
Allen F. Shaughnessy, PharmD, MMedEd
Professor of Family Medicine
Tufts University
Boston, MA
Comments
ID in HF
Interesting study .... how many were women & how many men. Ferritin & transferrin saturation were the defining indicators for ID. I wonder how many had an actual anemia & what their indices were like.