1.İntroduction
Thalassemia is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide (1).
According to the severity, beta thalassemia major (β-TM) is the most
severe form; and affected patients exhibit symptoms within the first
year of life and requires lifelong regular blood transfusion therapy for
survival (2). Because standard transfusion therapy adds 0.32-0.64
mg/kg/day of iron to the body and causes iron overload, patients need
adequate iron-chelating treatment to prevent its progressive
accumulation in different organs, including the cardiovascular system
(3). However, cardiovascular involvement and deterioration in
endothelial function cannot be completely overcome even with iron
chelation therapy guided by accurate and strict monitoring. Ultimately,
the cardiovascular condition caused by iron overload remains the leading
cause of death in β-TM patients (4,5). Therefore, the early detection of
conditions caused by cardiovascular iron overload is an important
clinical need to prevent or diagnose and treat complications, improve
prognosis (6).
In this study, we aimed to identify subclinical predictors of
cardiovascular involvement like left ventricular systolic dyssynchrony
index (SDI), flow mediated dilatation (FMD) and aortic strain in
patients with β-TM.