Implications of Iron Deficiency in STEMI Patients and in a Murine Model of Myocardial Infarction.

In patients with a first anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, iron deficiency (ID) was associated with larger infarcts, more extensive microvascular obstruction, and higher frequency of adverse left ventricular remodeling as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. In mice, an ID diet reduced the activity of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase/soluble guanylate cyclase/protein kinase G pathway in association with oxidative/nitrosative stress and increased infarct size after transient coronary occlusion. Iron supplementation or administration of an sGC activator before ischemia prevented the effects of the ID diet in mice. Not only iron excess, but also ID, may have deleterious effects in the setting of ischemia and reperfusion.
Competing Interests: This study was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain, through the project PI16/00232 and the research network CIBERCV (CB16/11/00479), both cofunded by European Regional Development Fund, and by the Sociedad Española de Cardiología (Proyecto de Investigación Traslacional en Cardiología 2016). The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
(© 2021 The Authors.)