Cardiac complications of tranfusional hemosiderosis

Cardiac examinations of 22 patients with transfusional haemosiderosis revealed moderate dilation of the left atrium and right ventricle suggesting restrictive dysfunction of the left ventricle. Left ventricular size, systolic function and wall thickness were normal. A linear correlation was found between the amount of transfused blood and the size of the left atrium, and also between the left atrium, and also between the left atrial size and serum feritin concentration. The role of haemosiderosis as a cause of death in patients with heart failure was confirmed by the significantly greater amount of transfused blood, the increased serum ferritin concentration, and the considerable amount of myocardial iron deposits found at autopsy. The significantly larger left atrial diameter in these patients suggests the prognostic importance of restrictive left ventricular dysfunction in transfusional haemosiderosis