Changes in cardiac performance after dialysis in patients with chronic renal failure

The effect of hemodialysis on left ventricular performance in 10 uremic patients was studied utilizing echocardiography. Left ventricular function curves constructed by a lower body negative pressure method were compared before and after dialysis. Although hemodialysis caused a decrease in the stroke volume index at rest from 55 +/- 17 to 50 +/- 20 ml/m2, the left ventricular function curve did not show any detectable shift. Thus, it is concluded that a decrease in stroke volume secondary to dialysis is attributable to the reduction in preload, rather than to changes in the contractile state of the left ventricle.