Acute effects of haemodialysis on left heart dimensions and left ventricular function: an echocardiographic study

Carotid pulse tracings and M-mode echocardiography were recorded in 25 patients on maintenance haemodialysis pre- and post-dialysis. Myocardial function, as assessed by fractional shortening and velocity of circumferential fibre shortening, was depressed in 7 out of 25 patients pre-dialysis (28%). Acute Haemodialysis resulted in significant changes in body weight, mean arterial pressure, urea, creatinine and packed cell volumes in all patients. Left ventricular function, however, improved significantly only in that group of patients in which it was depressed prior to dialysis. Echocardiography provides a simple means for evaluating left ventricular function in patients on chronic haemodialysis and shows that cardiac performance improves with acute dialysis when it is depressed pre-dialysis.