Safety and Efficacy of Early Post-Operative Intravenous Iron Replacement In Patients With HeartMate III Left Ventricular Assist Device

Abstract

Background While guidelines suggest intravenous (IV) iron to improve functional status and quality of life (QoL) in patients with NYHA class II-III heart failure (HF), continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) recipients were not included in early IV iron studies. Our study compared outcomes between patients who did and did not receive IV iron during the index admission following Abbott HeartMate III™ (HM 3) CF-LVAD placement. Methods Thirty-three adult patients with a HM3 placed at our institution who received early post-operative IV iron (n = 20) or no IV iron replacement (n = 13) were compared. The co-primary outcomes were mean change in quality of life (by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire [MLHFQ]) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) from baseline to first >90 day clinic follow-up. Results At first clinic follow-up there was no significant difference between the IV iron and no-IV iron groups in MLHFQ (−27 ± 38 vs −21 ± 41, P = .8822) or 6MWD (360 ± 740 vs 786 ± 722, P = .208). Conclusion Patients receiving IV iron during index admission following HM3 implantation did not experience an improvement in quality of life or functional capacity when compared to those who did not receive IV iron.