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Cystatin C, left ventricular hypertrophy, and diastolic dysfunction: data from the Heart and Soul Study
Joachim H Ix1, Michael G Shlipak, Glenn M Chertow
1Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Box 0532, HSE 672, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0532, USA.
Journal of Cardiac Failure
|October 19, 2006
Summary
Higher serum cystatin C levels are linked to left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in heart patients without heart failure. This suggests cystatin C may indicate early cardiac changes in coronary artery disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Nephrology
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Impaired kidney function, indicated by serum cystatin C, is linked to heart failure risk.
- The association between cystatin C and preclinical cardiac structural abnormalities remains unclear.
- This study investigates cystatin C's role in early cardiac changes in patients with coronary artery disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if serum cystatin C levels are associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
- To assess the relationship between cystatin C and diastolic dysfunction.
- To examine the association of cystatin C with systolic dysfunction in heart patients without heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-one outpatients with coronary artery disease and no clinical heart failure were included.
- Participants were grouped into quartiles based on serum cystatin C concentrations.
- Echocardiography was used to assess left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and systolic dysfunction.
Main Results:
- Higher cystatin C concentrations were significantly associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (OR 2.17, P = .002).
- Increased cystatin C levels correlated with diastolic dysfunction (OR 1.79, P = .04).
- No significant association was found between cystatin C and systolic dysfunction (P = .15).
Conclusions:
- Elevated serum cystatin C is strongly linked to left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction.
- Cystatin C may serve as a biomarker for preclinical cardiac structural abnormalities in patients with coronary artery disease.
- These findings highlight the potential of cystatin C in identifying early cardiac changes in this population.
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