Assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in patients receiving anthracycline therapy.
Abnormalities in left ventricular filling have been described as an early finding in coronary artery disease and in cardiomyopathy. The present study was undertaken to determine whether impaired diastolic function may be an early sign of anthracycline cardiotoxicity. Radionuclide left ventricular curves of 30 treated patients were compared with the curves of 17 normal, agematched, volunteers. The curves were analyzed for ejection fraction, peak filling rate (normalized for end diastolic counts and for stroke counts), time to peak filling rate and filling fraction in the first third of diastole normalized for cycle length. In 20 patients (Groups A and B), we analyzed the radionuclide ventriculography preceding the decrease of systolic function or a clinical congestive heart failure. In ten patients (Group C) who ended a treatment regimen without systolic dysfunction or clinically evident cardiotoxicity, we analyzed the ventriculography at the end of the therapy. Among the diastolic indexes, only the first third filling fraction was abnormal in a minority of the patients (6/20 in Groups A and B). Our findings suggest that diastolic dysfunction is uncommon in anthracycline treated patients prior to systolic dysfunction.
Parmentier
S
S
Center of Nuclear Medicine, University of Louvain Medical School, Brussels, Belgium.
Melin
J A
JA
Piret
L
L
Beckers
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003971:Diastole; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D009279:Naphthacenes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013318:Stroke Volume
D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D009279:Naphthacenes