The Effect of Iron Injection on Six Minute Walking Test and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure and Iron Deficiency

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are usually faced with reduced physical function, inappropriate sport tolerance and inability for daily activities. Studies showed that increasing serum hemoglobin (Hb) level in CHF can increase the maximum oxygen delivery and the consequent functional capacity. We aimed to assess this finding.Material and Methods: This single-arm clinical trial study was conducted on patients with CHF between March 2019 and 2020 in our hospital. In baseline, NYHA function class and 6-minute walking test (6MWT) were recorded. Persian standard version of health-related quality of life (Iranian-QoL) questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS) for fatigue were also administered to patients. After calculating the required dose of elemental iron, intravenous ferric carboxymaltose solution was infused in 1000 mg dosage for patients with hemoglobin level of more than 11 mg/dl (anemia) and in 500 mg dosage for patients with hemoglobin level of more than 14 mg/dl (without anemia). All the examinations were repeated after 12 weeks.Results: Eventually, 50 (20 male and 30 female) patients with a mean age of 58.88 ± 17.05 years underwent analysis. The mean distance in 6MWT was significantly increased from baseline (mean±SD change: 17±6m, p < 0.001). In addition, the mean fatigue and quality of life scores were significantly improved 12 weeks after treatment in comparison to the baseline (P<0.001).Conclusion: a one-cycle treatment with intravenous ferric carboxymaltose can efficiently improve the functional capacity and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure who suffer from iron deficiency, with and without anemia.

The Effect of Iron Injection on Six Minute Walking Test and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure and Iron Deficiency Keywords:

iron deficiency anemia , Heart failure , Quality of Life , Six Minute Walking Test