Frequency of diastolic dysfunction in patients with sickle cell anaemia: a tissue Doppler imaging study.
OBJECTIVE
Although cardiac dilatation and systolic dysfunction have been well documented as a late manifestation, there are conflicting reports regarding the diastolic dysfunction, by using traditional echocardiographic methods in patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA). The aim of this study was to investigate left ventricular diastolic function in SCA patients without congestive heart failure by using pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).


METHODS
Thirty-one patients (18 men and 13 women, mean age: 26.4 +/- 8.5 years) with homozygous SCA without congestive heart failure and 31 healthy control subjects (19 men and 12 women, mean age: 26.5 +/- 7.6 years) were enrolled in the study. All patients and the controls underwent echocardiographic examination. Left ventricular diastolic function was evaluated by using both traditional pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) and TDI.


RESULTS
The cardiac chamber dimensions, wall thicknesses, E and A transmitral peak diastolic velocities, systolic (Sm), early (Em) and late (Am) diastolic myocardial velocities were significantly increased in the patients compared to the controls. Diastolic dysfunction was found in 7 (22.6%) and 3 (9.7%) patients by PWD and TDI, respectively. Of the 7 patients with diastolic abnormalities, 4 patients with a restrictive pattern by PWD were found to be normal by TDI.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is not a frequent finding in patients with SCA without congestive heart failure and TDI is a more reliable and easy method to evaluate diastolic function. Patients with a restrictive pattern found by PWD should be reevaluated by using TDI.
Kanadaşi
Mehmet
M
Cukurova University, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cardiology Department, Adana, Turkey. kanadasi@cu.edu.tr
Akpinar
Onur
O
Cayli
Murat
M
Dönmez
Yurdaer
Y
Acartürk
Esmeray
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003971:Diastole; D018619:Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013318:Stroke Volume; D013599:Systole; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*