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There are around 6.5 million people with chronic heart failure in Europe and around 5 million in the USA.¹
Your risks of having heart failure increase with age, and in particular increase when you are more than 75 years old.^1,2
About 50% of heart failure patients have some form of iron deficiency, with and without anaemia.^3,4

Heart failure is a term used to describe a heart that cannot keep up with its workload.

As stated in the European Society of Cardiology 2021 guidelines, in developed countries, the age-adjusted incidence of heart failure may be falling, presumably reflecting better management of cardiovascular disease, but due to ageing, the overall incidence is increasing. Currently, the incidence of heart failure (HF) in Europe is about 3/1000 person-years (all age-groups) or about 5/1000 person-years in adults⁵.

The prevalence of heart failure is approximately 1–2% of the adult population in developed countries, rising to more than 10% among people over 70 years of age. As studies only usually include recognized / diagnosed HF cases, the true prevalence is likely to  be higher⁵.

There are several potential causes of heart failure, all of which have the common thread of weakening the heart. Heart failure can be caused by cardiovascular issues such as heart attack, coronary artery disease (damage to the inside of the blood vessels of the heart), and hypertension (high blood pressure), as well as other diseases and conditions, such as diabetes and obesity.

Lifestyle factors, such as smoking and lack of activity, play a significant role, as they are often what give way to some of these concerns. A genetic condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is a fairly common cause as well⁶.

• Genetics
• Obesity
• Inactivity
• Heart attack
• Coronary artery disease
• Somking
• Hypertension

Iron deficiency, which can be present independently of anaemia, is present in up to 55% of patients with chronic HF ⁵. It may be caused by increased loss, reduced intake or absorption (e.g. malnutrition, gut congestion) and/or impaired iron metabolism caused by the chronic inflammatory activation of heart failure, although the exact cause of iron deficiency in heart failure remains unknown.⁵ Iron deficiency may impair functional capacity, precipitate circulatory decompensation, promote skeletal muscle dysfunction, and is associated with frailty, irrespective of anaemia⁵.

In patients with heart failure, iron deficiency is associated with reduced exercise capacity, poor quality of life, risk of hospitalisation, increased all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, and increased costs⁸. Patients with heart failure should be regularly screened for iron deficiency and anaemia by their doctor.

• Reduced exercise capacity
• Poor Quality of Life
• Increased risk of hospitalisation
• Increased all-cause and CV mortality
• Increased costs