[Effects of erythrocytopheresis on the state of the left heart in patients with polycythemia vera: echocardiographic findings].

Functional response of the left ventricle (LV) and left atrium to erythrocytapheresis (EA) was studied in 20 patients. At admission, the patients had enlarged LV and low myocardial contractility. By cardiac and stroke volume indices two types of central hemodynamics were identified (hyperkinetic and hypokinetic) dependent on PV duration and concomitant cardiac pathology. These correlations were inferred basing on comparisons of echo-CG findings to data on the patients' age, sex, PV history, associated heart disease, packed cell volume. EA produced positive changes in echo-CG indices with complete normalization of cardiac output in some cases. This is supposed to be due to EA ability to limit foci of myocardial damage and to mobilize cardiac reserves.