Background Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a very common genetic disease. Abnormally increased intestinal iron absorption and accelerated recycling of iron lead to progressive body iron accumulation and the generation of oxidative stress in tissues. In the late stages iron overload of the heart can lead to the left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. It is believed, that two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D STE) can evaluate LV dysfunction more accurately and earlier than conventional echocardiography. Evaluation of such assessment was the purpose of this paper. Methods We prospectively enrolled 58 patients with genetically confirmed HH; 29 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers constituted the control group. Classic echocardiographic and 2D STE parameters (GE VIVID E9, EchoPAC v201) were compared between the groups, additionally correlations between echo and iron turnover parameters were performed. Results The HH patients had all standard echo parameters within the normal range. All 2D STE parameters were significantly worse in HH than in control group (Table 1). We did not find any correlation between echo and iron turnover parameters, whilst significant correlation with the time from diagnosis and the numbers of venesections was noticed. Conclusions Novel 2D STE analyzes seem to be helpful in early detection of heart abnormalities in HH patients. The correlations between the echo and iron indices are weak, allowing to suggest the lack of a "direct" relationship between the iron turnover and myocardial function and that myocardial iron overload is not the only mechanism involved in development of HH cardiomyopathy. HH All n = 58 Controls n = 29 p LAVI (ml/BSA) 31 (23-37) 22 (19-27)