Uremic cardiomyopathy: an inadequate left ventricular hypertrophy.

Echocardiographic study of the left ventricle was performed in 57 selected, normotensive hemodialysis patients in comparison to 40 healthy controls matched for sex, age and blood pressure. The statistically significant abnormalities in uremic patients were an enlargement of the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDiD) (5.58 +/- 0.60 vs. 5.05 +/- 0.5 cm; P less than 0.001) and an increase in the left ventricular radius to posterior wall-thickness ratio (r/Th) (3.65 +/- 0.68 vs. 3.27 +/- 0.44; P less than 0.001). Enlargement of the ventricle was related to anemia (P less than 0.001) and the hemodynamic effect of arteriovenous fistula. Ventricular radius to wall thickness ratio was inversely related to systolic arterial pressure in controls (P less than 0.001) and patients (P less than 0.01) with a significant upward shift of the regression in dialysis patients (P less than 0.001). In dialysis patients, the left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT) was inversely correlated to serum parathormone (PTH) level (P less than 0.001), and r/Th ratio was positively correlated to serum PTH (P less than 0.001). Bone biopsy was performed in 28 patients. Histomorphometric indexes of osteitis fibrosa were in dialysis patients, correlated to echocardiographic abnormalities; osteoclasts number was inversely correlated to LVPWT (P less than 0.001) and positively related to r/Th ratio (P less than 0.001). Osteoclastic resorption surfaces and LVPWT were inversely correlated (P less than 0.001), while a positive correlation between r/Th ratio and osteoclastic resorption surfaces was observed (P less than 0.001). Osteoblastic surfaces and tetracycline double-labeled surfaces were also correlated to LVPWT (P less than 0.001) and r/Th ratio (P less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)