title: Getting the iron out: preventing and treating heart failure in transfusion-dependent thalassemia.
abstract: Congestive heart failure is the most common cause of death in patients with thalassemia, as chronic accumulation of iron due to regular blood transfusions leads to biventricular systolic dysfunction and death at a very young age. The quantity of iron deposited in the heart is a key determinant of outcome. Early diagnosis and intensive chelation of the cardiac iron can avert heart failure and its fatal outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Luke's Hospital, Saint Louis, MO 63017, USA. djabbar@im.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Danish A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jabbar
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Muslin
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D007501:Iron