Left ventricular performance in chronic renal failure before and after hemodialysis assessed by systolic time...

The purpose of the present study was to examine noninvasively the myocardial performance before and after hemodialysis in 40 patients of chronic renal failure. Using systolic time intervals, the following results were obtained. 1) Left ventricular ejection time was shortened significantly. The reduction of circulating blood volume estimated by the body weight change seemed to be responsible for this finding. 2) Pre-ejection period seemed to be a sensitive indicator of the left ventricular performance in hemodialysis. 3) The less the circulating blood volume, the less the suppression of cardiac performance. 4) Left ventricular function in patients without cardiomegaly was improved. 5) Left ventricular function tended to improve in the young age group. The present study demonstrated that the left ventricular performance tended to be suppressed in older age patients, in patients with cardiomegaly and in the cases with excessive removal of circulating blood volume during dialysis. The significance of noninvasively obtained left ventricular hemodynamic parameters in patients with hemodialysis was discussed.