Echocardiography in thalassemic patients on blood transfusions and chelation without heart failure.

Background: Patients with thalassemia major present chronic hemolysis and require regular blood transfusions which may cause iron overload cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure. Hemochromatosis is characterized by excessive iron accumulation in tissues, and heart involvement is the main cause of death in patients with thalassemia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac structure and function by conventional Doppler echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging in patients with TM and no clinical evidence of heart failure.