Iron therapy for heart failure

Iron deficiency regularly occurs in heart failure patients, but the symptoms tend to be vague and non-specific. As iron deficiency is associated with lower quality of life, reduced exertion capacity and more frequent hospital admissions, we screen systematically for iron deficiency. Through iron therapy, we hope to positively impact your exercise capacity and quality of life.

No specific preparation is required.

If you are ill on the day that your treatment has been scheduled, contact the heart failure nurse to postpone the appointment.

Maria Middelares General Hospital: when you arrive at the hospital, sign in first with your electronic identity card at one of the kiosks. After receiving your number, report to the check-in desk. There, you will be given a wristband and patient labels. You then report to the day hospital at the heart centre. Take gate E and follow the signs labelled G1 Cardiology day hospital. The heart failure nurse will be there to greet you and give you a detailed explanation of the procedure for the therapy. We will only start once you have given your consent.

To allow for monitoring of the therapeutic effect, both your quality of life and exertion capacity are measured before the treatment is started. This is measured with of a questionnaire and a walking test. The iron deficiency is supplemented with an infusion. This iron infusion takes 30 minutes. During administration, your blood pressure and pulse will be monitored regularly.
Do you experience any discomfort? Please let the nurse know immediately.

Allergic reactions occur in rare cases. In that case, the infusion is stopped immediately and you will be given medication to treat the allergic reaction straight away.

The results of treatment are monitored in several ways: with lab results that show the amount of iron in your contains, with pre- and post-measurements of quality of life and exertion capacity. You can discuss the results with your cardiologist at the check-up appointment.

• After the procedure, you are asked to stay for 30 minutes to check for any possible side effects. After that, you are free to go home.
• If required, you will be given an appointment for a second infusion after one week.
• About six weeks after the infusion/infusions, you will have a check-up appointment with your treating cardiologist. Your iron levels and anaemia will be checked again. In case of persistent severe iron deficiency, your physician plans an additional administration.
• Afterwards, we monitor your iron and anaemia status every six months. The questionnaire and walking test will be repeated too.

See the leaflet below for more information.

Latest publication date: 16/05/2024
Supervising author: Dr Provenier Frank