Iron improves sleep apnea symptomsIntravenous iron therapy improves the hypercapnic ventilatory response and sleep disordered breathing in chronic heart failure.
Study highlights practical effects
We conducted a study to discover how intravenous iron therapy impacts sleep apnea in patients suffering from heart failure, anemia, and iron deficiency. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either ferric carboxymaltose or a placebo to assess changes in their sleep and respiratory function after treatment.
Our findings revealed that the intravenous iron treatment significantly improved the hypercapnic ventilatory response, which is the way our bodies react to increased carbon dioxide levels. We observed that, in particular, patients who received iron saw a notable reduction in their apneas and hypopneas—those moments when breathing stops or becomes shallow while asleep. Specifically, the apnoea-hypopnoea index dropped to an average of 12 events per hour with treatment, compared to 19 events per hour in the placebo group.
Furthermore, those who received iron also reported better overall symptoms and had improved physical capacity during exercise tests. This suggests that iron therapy not only helps with sleep-related breathing issues but may also boost oxygen delivery during physical activities.
Overall, our study supports the notion that iron therapy could play an important role in managing sleep apnea among patients with heart failure, providing them with enhanced breathing during sleep and better quality of life.
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