Hi, my mother recently found out the the iron in her body was close to 0 and that she has Anemia. She already has heart problems and with the Anemia her heart rate keep going up and also her hands go numb. Her doctor has told her to take iron supplements for now but she is unable to move a lot as her whole body is constantly tired. I would like to know if her symptoms are severe enough since she also has heart problems, and so if we need to take immediate action. Also if it is not that severe, what should she do besides taking Iron supplements.
Hello welcome to Chat Doctor. I have read your question and understand your concerns. Iron deficiency is one of the most common cause of anemia and in heart patient it must be corrected completely to avoid progression of heart disease and symptomatic relief to patients. My advice to you is - 1. Ask your doctor to give her in. Iron preparations as it will rapidly restore iron levels in body and rapid rise in hemoglobin levels than we can keep her on oral iron tablets for 3 to 6 months. 2. If hemoglobin is very low and patient has having breathlessness than she might require blood transfusion(only red blood cells) if hemoglobin is less than 7.3. In diet, she should consume Jagger, spinach daily because it has lots of iron content. 4. You should also search for the cause of iron deficiency in her, ask your doctor whether urine and stool sample for occult blood is required or not. Don't worry treatment of iron deficiency is easy and will cause Chat Doctor.  Thank you. Have a nice day.