Medial thickness of intrarenal arteries in congenital heart disease.
The medial thickness of intrarenal arteries was assessed morphometrically at autopsy in 15 patients with acyanotic heart disease, 30 patients with cyanotic heart disease, and in 33 normal individuals of the same age range. The arterial media was not influenced by age but was thinner in patients with cyanotic heart disease than in acyanotic patients and normal persons. This difference was apparent at any blood pressure level, though the medial thickness showed a positive correlation with the height of the systolic blood pressure. There was also a significant negative correlation between the medial thickness of the intrarenal arteries and the hemoglobin value in the patients with congenital heart disease. The thin media may result from atrophy or dilation. Possibly both factors contributed through combination of arterial relaxation, dampening of systolic pressure peaks, and increase of blood volume.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000473:pathology*