Prevalence and spectrum of iron deficiency in heart failure patients in south Rajasthan

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and pattern of iron deficiency (ID) in heart failure (HF) patients with or without anemia. Methods: This is a single-center observational study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital of south Rajasthan. Patients admitted to hospital with clinical diagnosis of HF based on validated clinical criteria were included in the study. ID was diagnosed based on complete Iron profile, including serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity, and transferrin saturation (TSAT). Anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) <13 g/dl for males and <12 g/dl for females, based on World Health Organization definition. Absolute ID was taken as serum ferritin < 100 μg/L and functional ID was defined as normal serum ferritin (100–300 μg/L) with low TSAT (