title: Elevated plasma beta-endorphin levels in patients with congestive heart failure.
abstract: Recent experimental studies show that the opioid system is important to the pathophysiology of cardiovascular impairment in congestive heart failure. Plasma beta-endorphin levels were measured in 37 patients with congestive heart failure and compared with those of 21 age- and gender-matched normal subjects. The relation of plasma beta-endorphin levels and cardiac function at rest and exercise capacity was assessed in 17 of the patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Exercise capacity was determined by symptom-limited maximal treadmill exercise with expired gas analysis. Plasma beta-endorphin levels were elevated and correlated with the patients' New York Heart Association functional cardiac status (control: 14.0 +/- 4.4 pg/ml; class II: 17.9 +/- 3.6 pg/ml; class III: 28.3 +/- 8.8 pg/ml; class IV: 46.7 +/- 14.6 pg/ml, mean +/- SD). No relation was found between plasma beta-endorphin levels and left ventricular systolic performance as assessed by M-mode and Doppler echocardiography. Plasma beta-endorphin levels were negatively correlated with cardiac output determined by Doppler echocardiography and positively correlated with systemic vascular resistance (r = -0.733, r = 0.747, respectively, both p less than 0.001), but not correlated with calf blood flow as measured by a plethysmography. A good correlation was found between plasma beta-endorphin levels at rest and exercise capacity. The correlations with peak oxygen consumption, anaerobic threshold, and peak rate-pressure product were r = -0.721, -0.672, and -0.674, respectively (p less than 0.01). The data show that plasma beta-endorphin levels are elevated in patients with congestive heart failure and reflect, to some degree, the severity of the disease.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukutake
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishian
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asakuma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001615:beta-Endorphin