Introduction: Cardiac complications are the leading cause of mortality amongst transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) patients. The multifactorial etiology of cardiac disorders makes their management challenging. Therefore, in addition to evaluating the incidence of heart failure (HF) and pulmonary hypertension (PHT), we assessed the associated factors among 737 TDT patients, aiming to achieve a plenary perspective of their cardiac disorders and relative factors.
Material and methods:In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the incidence of HF and PHT in 737 TDT patients while considering imperative factors such as endocrinopathies, iron status, and serum vitamin D level.Results: The incidence of total heart failure and pulmonary hypertension were estimated at 12.3% among participants, although the rate of cardiac iron overload was c.40%. Splenectomy, serum vitamin D, low bone mass, age, gender, hypoparathyroidism, hypogonadism, and diabetes significantly impaired the cardiac function of our patients. In univariate analysis, only the frequency of blood transfusion proved to have a risk effect on left ventricle ejection fraction.Conclusions: Cardiac iron overload has the highest impact on the incidence of cardiac disorders among TDT patients. We observed significant statistical associations between both HF and PHT with iron chelation regimen, endocrinopathies, splenectomy, serum vitamin D, and total body iron status in univariate analysis. Such results were not statistically significant in multiple logistic regression. However, in clinical practice, their effect could not be ignored. Further studies are required to achieve efficient management of thalassemia patients with cardiac disorders.