Tag Archives: ferritin

Introduction Ferritin is an essential protein in iron metabolism that reflects body iron homeostasis and is considered a biomarker for inflammation. The clinical significance of serum ferritin levels resides in its strong correlation with adverse outcomes in the general population and patients with various pathological conditions. In this regard, both low and high ferritin values were associated with all-cause mortality in some general population studies.1 Regarding cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, different studies showed that a high serum ferritin level is associated with a higher rate of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.2,3 Be

Prevalence In published reports of patients with heart failure, the prevalence of anaemia varies markedly, reflecting the very varied characteristics of the studied populations. In reports based upon clinical trials, the reported prevalence ranges from 10–25% (figure 1), while in cohorts of patients in observational or registry-based studies, it appears to be higher, from 15–50% (figure 2). This variation is unsurprising given the relatively selected nature of patients recruited to clinical trials in CHF. A reasonable overall estimate can be gleaned from a large systematic review of 34 studies, including more than 150,000 patients, in wh

Table 1. Origins of anaemia Haematinic deficiency The commonest single haematinic deficiency related to anaemia in patients with CHF is iron deficiency. Around half of all patients with anaemia have evidence of iron deficiency on the basis of abnormal results for serum iron, iron binding capacity and ferritin.1,2 Folate or vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively uncommon. Iron is used by the body not only for haemoglobin production but in a variety of enzyme systems, which may be affected by iron deficiency. There are many possible reasons for iron deficiency in patients with CHF. Dietary intake may be poor in the elderly population, and blood l

The situation in the anaemia of CHF is less advanced, but in recent years there has been increasing interest in the use of both of these treatment strategies. A few small clinical trials have suggested some potential benefits of stimulating erythropoiesis with ESA therapy in heart failure anaemia, whilst the administration of IV iron has shown similar benefits even in the absence of ESA therapy. Indeed, the recently published FAIR-HF (Ferinject® Assessment in patients with Iron deficiency and chronic Heart Failure) trial1 has opened the eyes of cardiologists to the potential for this latter treatment strategy to improve the symptoms and sig