Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Department of Cardiology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Port Road, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2022 May 4;22(1):204. doi: 10.1186/s12872-022-02633-6.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac tachyarrhythmia and has a rising global prevalence. Given the increasing burden of AF-related symptoms and complications, new approaches to management are required. Anemia and iron deficiency are common conditions in patients with AF. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that the presence of anemia may be associated with worse outcome in these patients. The role of anemia and iron deficiency has been extensively explored in other cardiovascular states, such as heart failure and ischemic heart disease. In particular, the role of iron repletion amongst patients with heart failure is now an established treatment modality. However, despite the strong bidirectional inter-relationship between AF and heart failure, the implications of anemia and iron-deficiency in AF have been scarcely studied. This area is of mechanistic and clinical relevance given the potential that treatment of these conditions may improve symptoms and prognosis in the increasing number of individuals with AF. In this review, we summarise the current published literature on anemia and iron deficiency in patients with AF. We discuss AF complications such as stroke, bleeding, and heart failure, in addition to AF-related symptoms such as exercise intolerance, and the potential impact of anemia and iron deficiency on these. Finally, we summarize current research gaps on anemia, iron deficiency, and AF, and underscore potential research directions.
心房颤动（AF）是最常见的心律失常，全球患病率呈上升趋势。鉴于与 AF 相关症状和并发症的负担不断增加，需要新的管理方法。贫血和缺铁是 AF 患者常见的病症。此外，新出现的证据表明，这些患者存在贫血可能与预后更差有关。贫血和缺铁在其他心血管疾病中的作用已经得到广泛探讨，如心力衰竭和缺血性心脏病。特别是，心力衰竭患者补充铁的作用现在已经是一种既定的治疗方式。然而，尽管 AF 和心力衰竭之间存在着强烈的双向相互关系，但在 AF 中贫血和缺铁的影响几乎没有被研究过。鉴于越来越多的 AF 患者，治疗这些病症可能会改善症状和预后，因此这一领域具有机制和临床相关性。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前关于 AF 患者贫血和缺铁的已发表文献。我们讨论了 AF 的并发症，如中风、出血和心力衰竭，以及与 AF 相关的症状，如运动不耐受，以及贫血和缺铁对这些症状的潜在影响。最后，我们总结了目前关于贫血、缺铁和 AF 的研究空白，并强调了潜在的研究方向。
