Funding outcome

There is a small body of evidence that suggests a link between iron deficiency and the occurrence of stroke in infants and children. The Principal Investigator of this project (Director of the Stollery Paediatric Stroke Program) has published on this topic and anecdotally observed this among his patients, particularly within the population of infants and children with heart defects. Stroke is well recognized to contribute to the developmental challenges and reduced lifespan that children with heart defects can experience. This project will analyze existing medical records and explore the relationship between iron levels and stroke in infants and children who have a specific category of heart conditions. These heart conditions exist at birth and result in a lack of oxygen in the blood circulating through the body. Although infants and children with these conditions are at greater risk of developing stroke than the general paediatric population, there has been little exploration of their iron status. In most cases, iron status is not assessed in these children. However, several measurements on a generic blood test can be suggestive of iron levels. We hypothesize that stroke occurrence will be higher in infants and children with these heart defects who have blood tests suggestive of iron deficiency, compared to those whose blood tests are not suggestive of iron deficiency. If this is the case, it would support the need for further studies to determine whether iron supplementation in infants and children with heart defects could reduce their stroke risk and reduce the overall incidence of stroke in this population.