Figure 1.

CONSORT flow chart of patients screened, randomized and followed up. A total of 221 met the inclusion criteria (numbers 1–6) mentioned in the Methods section and were screened for the presence of iron deficiency, which was present in 48%. Exclusion criteria included haemoglobin >15 g/dL, C-reactive protein >20 mg/L, insufficient image quality to assure three-dimensional echocardiography, and active inclusion in another randomized controlled trial or recent (<30 days) completion of another randomized controlled trial.