Prevalence and prognosis of iron deficiency in acute myocardial infarction

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) and iron deficiency (ID) are two common pathologies, but the potential role of iron in the pathophysiology of CAD through inflammation and atherosclerosis is still being debated. Objective To evaluate the prevalence and prognosis of ID in CAD patient after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Method Patients hospitalised for AMI in two cardiology centres were screened for ID in the first 48 hours after admittance. ID was defined as transferring saturation less than 20% (T-SAT  Results Half (49%) of the 145 patients included were diagnosed with ID (average age 66.5 ± 13.4 years, 30% were women and 30% over 75 years- old). Six months overall survival of ID patients was impaired: 83.1% vs. 100%, in non-ID patients (P  Fig. 1 ). Conclusion ID is highly prevalent among patients hospitalised for MI and associated with higher mortality at 6 months and greater severity of CAD. Whether its presence impacts long-term survival needs further studies.