Introduction:

Heart failure combined with iron deficiency is directly related with the reduction in functional parameters and, as consequence, with a deterioration in the quality of life and poor prognosis in the patients that suffer from it. It has been found that correction of the iron deficiency improves the functional class and other parameters of the disease in the short-term.

Objective:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of iron in the treatment of heart failure.

Methods:

Clinical trials were selected that evaluated the use of administering intravenous or oral iron vs. placebo in the context of patients with cardiac failure and at the same time, patients were selected that concomitantly suffered from iron deficiency anaemia. The search was made in data bases such as MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Clinical trials (CENTRAL), LILACS and WPRIM.

Results:

Of the 10,729 articles obtained, only 6 were eligible with 835 patients, of which 520 were treated with iron therapy and 315 with a placebo or conventional heart failure therapy. Due to the heterogeneity of the results, it was not possible to perform a meta-analysis.

Conclusion:

A significant improvement was identified in several of the parameters evaluated, such as the 6-minute walk test, the New York Heart Association functional class, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max.), and an overall subjective evaluation. This showed that iron therapy is a safe and effective option in the management of patients with heart failure since there was a significant improvement in their functional capacity, quality of life, and several para-clinical parameters.

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