Successful treatment of iron-overload cardiomyopathy in hereditary hemochromatosis with deferoxamine and deferiprone: a case report

Abstract There is scarce evidence regarding use of iron chelators in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis who are intolerant of phlebotomy or erythocytapheresis. A 52-year-old male with genetically confirmed HFE hemochromatosis presented with liver disease and heart failure with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Due to anemia after initial treatment, we added intravenous deferoxamine followed by oral deferiprone to less frequent erythrocytaphereses, which normalized systolic function within one year. Repeated cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed improvement of T2 * relaxation time. This report illustrates beneficial effect of iron chelators in individuals with HFE hemochromatosis and poor tolerance of erythrocytapheresis.