Echocardiographic detection of cardiac involvement in chronic renal failure.

The aim of this work was to determine the incidence of occult cardiac involvement in chronic renal failure (CRF). 50 adult patients (42 male, 8 female) were subjected to echocardiography (by both M-mode and 2D methods). Pericardial effusion was detected in 15 patients (30%), 2 patients (4%) had dilated left ventricles with poor contractility and sluggish interventricular septum (IVS) movement, suggesting cardiomyopathy. 1 patient (2%) had cardiac calcification involving the aortic valve, 32 patients (64%) had normal echo findings. These findings suggest that echocardiography is an invaluable tool in detecting early cardiac abnormalities in C.R.F., especially in diagnosing small asymptomatic pericardial effusion and cardiac calcification.