Evaluation of cardiac global function using the myocardial performance index by tissue Doppler echocardiography in...

The purpose of this study was to assess global ventricular function in patients with uremia by means of the myocardial performance index (MPI) derived from tissue Doppler echocardiography.

According to the left ventricular mass index and pericardial effusion, 45 patients with uremia were classified into 2 groups: a uremia group and a uremia with pericardial effusion group. To calculate left ventricular MPI (LVMPI) and right ventricular MPI (RVMPI) by tissue Doppler echocardiography, the isovolumic contraction time (ICT), isovolumic relaxation time (IRT), and ejection time (ET) were measured at different sites in the mitral and tricuspid annuli.

The mean ICT and IRT were longer, the ET was shorter, and the LVMPI and RVMPI were higher in the 2 disease groups than in a control group, and the indices were higher in the uremia with pericardial effusion group than in the uremia group. The increase of the LVMPI was more obvious than that of the RVMPI. There was a significant difference in the mean LVMPI and RVMPI among the 3 groups (P<.01). The MPI was positively correlated with the IRT and the sum of the ICT and IRT and negatively correlated with the ET.

Both left and right ventricular systolic and diastolic function are impaired in patients with uremia. The MPI could be measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography, and we suggest that this index provides a novel, noninvasive method for clinical research on global myocardial performance in patients with uremia.