Reduced Iron in Blood May Help Few Heart Patients

According to a latest study, blood letting in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) is effective if carried out at a young age. This finding was published in the February issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

Iron deposit in the body is considered a risk factor for developing heart ailments. Hence reducing iron from the body may have a positive effect on cardiovascular diseases. The process of removal of iron from blood is called phlebotomy.

The scientists carried out their study taking into consideration 1277 patients. Systematic phlebotomy in one group was compared against another group who did not undergo this procedure. The results were not very different but when age was taken into consideration, younger patients had lower incidences of heart attacks.

This finding is based on the fact that pre-menopausal women who regularly lose iron through menstruation do not develop coronary diseases while post menopausal women and men have the tendency to suffer from heart diseases as they don’t let out iron. This finding has triggered discussion on the connection of iron and cardiovascular diseases.

Source-Medindia
JYT