Understanding your ferritin

Serum ferritin is a blood test that estimates stored body iron. It’s easy and done often (every 1–3 months). The target is generally 500–1,000 ng/mL. The trend over several results is more reliable than any single value.

Ferritin isn’t perfect: it also rises with infection or liver inflammation, so one high reading after being unwell may not mean your iron jumped. A steadily falling ferritin usually reflects falling body iron.

Because ferritin can look reassuring while iron is still high in the heart, it’s always read alongside the MRI scans of the heart and liver.