Iron infusion boosts health of patients with heart failure

AN IRON infusion every one to two years could help people with heart failure avoid being admitted to hospital, research suggests.

One million people in the UK are living with heart failure, where the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should, and can face long stays in hospital if symptoms get worse.

Up to half of those with heart failure also have low iron levels and this has been linked to a lower quality of life, and greater risk of being admitted to hospital and of death, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said.

In the study, funded by the BHF, 1,137 people with heart failure and low iron levels received either intravenous iron infusions or their usual care.

The researchers found iron infusions reduced the risk of ending up in hospital because of heart failure and dying from a heart-related cause by 18 per cent compared to usual care. Patients who were given iron also reported a better quality of life at four months.

Prof Paul Kalra, honorary clinical senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow and consultant cardiologist at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, led the study.

He said: “We’ve shown that as little as one 60-minute treatment, repeated when needed, can be enough for most people with heart failure to top up their iron levels, help improve their wellbeing and keep them out of hospital.”

The BHF said about one in 10 people will die during a heart failure hospital admission in the UK.

In the study, which looked at data from August 2016 to October 2021, participants visited hospital every four months where they had their iron levels measured, and people in the iron group were given an infusion through an intravenous drip levels were low.

People in the study, published in The Lancet, were followed up for an average of 2.7 years. The majority (78 per cent) received just one or two intravenous iron infusions during this time.

Prof Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the BHF, said: “This straightforward and inexpensive treatment not only helps patients with heart failure feel better, but by reducing the need for hospitalisation can also free up extra time and beds to help tackle the growing backlog of heart care.”