[RE-POST]Cardiac monitoring essential for preventing heart disease in Thals

( Started by caraiti on: July 20, 2008, 09:23:47 AM )

Heart disease is responsible for the large majority of deaths in thal majors. A 2004 study shows that regular monitoring of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) can detect heart disease early enough to start preventitve chelation treatment in time to both prevent and reverse the severe heart function. LVEF can be measured in a variety of ways including echocardiograms.

From http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=9761#

Thirty-four patients in the study group were found to have this risk factor, and, in these cases, intense treatment with deferoxamine mesylate (DFO), a drug given intravenously or by injection, was recommended for removing the excess iron from the patient's blood. After rapid improvement in heart function with the initial treatment, the drug continued to make more gradual improvements over several years of sustained treatment before achieving its maximum effect.

All 27 patients who complied with the recommended therapy survived, while the seven who did not comply with treatment died from cardiac disease. The study found that the median period of time between an abnormal LVEF reading and development of cardiac disease was three and a half years – enough time for treatment with DFO to prevent and reverse the severe heart dysfunction.

"This study shows that regular monitoring of LVEF, combined with sustained DFO treatment when necessary, can be used to achieve excellent long-term prognosis in patients with thalassemia major and should be an integral part of their medical care."