Three Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Hemodialysis Patients

It has been suggested that ventricular strain measurements may be impaired in chronic hemodialysis patients despite having no history of heart disease. The aim of this study is to investigate whether ventricular strain parameters can be used to detect subclinical cardiac dysfunction in hemodialysis patients.

In our study, 47 patients under the age of 65 years with no known history of cardiac or valvular disease and receiving chronic hemodialysis treatment for at least 1 year were compared with an age- and sex-matched control group of 29 healthy individuals. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to evaluate parameters such as global longitudinal strain, right ventricular global longitudinal strain, and left ventricular diastolic diameter. Differences between groups were analyzed by Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U test.

The global longitudinal strain values of the hemodialysis group were significantly lower than those of the control group (-13.2 ± 3.91 vs. -22.1 ± 1.59, p < 0.001). Right ventricular global longitudinal strain (RV GLS) and left ventricular diastolic diameter were also significantly impaired in the hemodialysis group (p < 0.05). These results indicate the presence of subclinical cardiac dysfunction in hemodialysis patients.

Ventricular strain measurements may be impaired in chronic hemodialysis patients without a history of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is considered that ventricular strain measurements can be a useful method for the early detection of cardiac dysfunction in hemodialysis patients.