Treat Swine Flu – how to treat swine flu and health tips

BBC News

UK experts say they have found a way of predicting which thalassaemia patients are going to develop heart failure.

Thalassaemia is a disorder of the haemoglobin protein which gives red blood cells their colour

The technique uses a magnetic resonance scanner to measure the level of iron in the heart, which builds to life-threatening levels in some patients.

The study, published in the journal Circulation, suggests the technique leads to a 71% reduction in deaths.

Thalassaemia is an inherited disorder of the blood system which causes a lack of haemoglobin.

A government spokesman said it could significantly help in the management of people with thalassaemia.

The teams at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College tried the technique on 652 patients over seven years.

Blood transfusions

Haemoglobin is a protein contained in red blood cells which takes oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

A lack of oxygen can cause breathlessness, lethargy and fainting – a condition known as anaemia.

People with thalassaemia may have to have two or three blood transfusions a month.

Each time they receive about 250 milligrammes of iron in the blood and daily drug treatments to try to remove the iron from their body – a normal daily intake of iron from the diet is 30 milligrammes.

Despite this, in 50-60% of patients there is a potentially life-threatening build up of iron levels. Read more…