Abnormal diastolic left ventricular filling by pulsed Doppler echocardiography in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

To determine characteristics of diastolic left ventricular (LV) function in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), two groups of CAPD patients without (n = 23; group 1) vs with (n = 25; group 2) LV hypertrophy (greater than 13 mm) were compared with a group of untreated non-renal hypertensive patients with LV hypertrophy (n = 11; group 3) using Doppler-echocardiography. Age and body surface area were comparable in all three groups, mean CAPD-duration (32 +/- 28 vs 26 +/- 23 months; p = NS) was comparable in renal patients. LV systolic function in echocardiography (LVEF: 62 vs 64 vs 63%) and systolic time intervals were normal and comparable in all three groups. Atrial maximum filling velocities (96 +/- 25 vs 91 +/- 25 vs 67 +/- 8 cm/s) were comparably increased, the ratio of maximal early/atrial filling velocities was comparably decreased (0.73 +/- 0.25 vs 0.77 +/- 0.21 vs 0.99 +/- 0.05) in both groups of renal patients as compared to group 3 (p less than 0.05-0.01). Atrial filling fractions were increased in all three groups, more pronounced in group 1 than in group 3 (50 +/- 11 vs 40 +/- 7%; p less than 0.05). The normal correlation of Doppler parameters with age and with LV radius/thickness ratio was altered in renal patients such that high patient age tended to have an additional negative influence on LV diastolic function of hypertrophied, but not of normal myocardium. Isovolumic relaxation time was prolonged in all three groups (134 +/- 38 vs 131 +/- 34 vs 116 +/- 17 ms; p = NS). We conclude that in patients on CAPD, diastolic LV filling is impaired both in normal and hypertrophied myocardium. High age is a factor that further attributes to diastolic dysfunction of hypertrophied myocardium in CAPD.