Clinical management of cardiovascular complications in patients with thalassaemia major: a large observational multicenter study

To determine the clinical management of cardiovascular complications, and the extent of cardiac left ventricular (LV) involvement, in a large cohort of homogenously treated patients with thalassaemia major.

Participants were ≥16 years of age and diagnosed with thalassaemia major requiring regular blood transfusions since the age of 2. Patient characteristics, clinical and echocardiography data for 524 patients were extracted from Webthal^®, an Internet-shared database. Patients were considered to have evidence of cardiovascular disease if at least one cardiovascular drug was recorded in their file. The majority of patients (422 of 524; 80.5%) had not taken any cardiovascular drug. Among those who had angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors were the most commonly used (81 patients) and these were used by significantly more males than females (P < 0.01). Patients in whom cardiovascular drugs were prescribed showed evidence of cardiac structural and/or functional abnormalities, inasmuch as fractional shortening and ejection fraction were significantly lower (31.3 vs. 35% and 54.4 vs. 60.6; both P < 0.001) and LV end-diastolic diameter index was significantly higher (32.9 vs. 31.8; P= 0.004). Interestingly, when compared with patients in whom cardiovascular drug therapy was not deemed necessary, transfusion period was longer in treated patients (26.2 vs. 24.5 years; P= 0.002).

Approximately 19% of regularly transfused and chelated thalassaemia major patients need cardiovascular drug therapy. This subgroup is characterized by a dilated and mildly hypokinetic left ventricle when compared with the majority of thalassaemia major patients, who do not need any cardioactive drug. These data underscore the importance of careful evaluation of cardiac functional status in patients with thalassaemia major. Moreover, this database may serve as a clinically useful reference grid for echocardiograph values in this patient population.