According to a study published in JAMA, high-dose iron pills did not improve exercise capacity over 16 weeks in patients with a certain type of heart failure and iron deficiency.
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Iron deficiency is present in nearly 50% of patients with heart failure with reduced ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF). This iron deficiency may result in reduced functional capacity, poorer quality of life and increased mortality. Intravenous iron repletion trials in iron-deficient heart failure patients have shown favourable results but treating these patients intravenously regularly can be quite expensive and can also be logistically challenging. Oral iron supplementation may not always be an option either since its effectiveness in heart failure patient is unknown.
During this study, Gregory D. Lewis, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues randomly assigned 225 patients with HFrEF and iron deficiency to receive oral iron polysaccharide or placebo, 150mg twice daily for 16 weeks. Findings showed that change in peak oxygen uptake from the start of the study to 16 weeks did not differ significantly between the iron polysaccharide or placebo groups. In addition, no significant differences were observed between the treatment groups in 6-minute walk distance.
The authors conclude that their study findings do not support the use of oral iron supplementation in patients with HFreF.
Source: JAMA
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heart failure, iron deficiency, High-Dose Iron Pills, exercise capacity
According to a study published in JAMA, high-dose iron pills did not improve exercise capacity over 16 weeks in patients with a certain type of heart failure and iron deficiency.
