Left ventricular myocardial function in hemodialysis and nondialysis uremia patients: a three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography study

Several studies have demonstrated that uremic patients who have preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) could still have the potential for systolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess the differences between the left ventricular (LV) myocardial function in hemodialysis and nondialysis uremic patients based on three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography. The study population consisted of 35 maintenance hemodialysis patients (the hemodialysis group), 30 uremic patients who were hospitalized for the creation of a primary arteriovenous fistula (the nondialysis group), and 32 healthy volunteers. All of the patients had normal left ventricular ejection fractions (i.e., 55% or greater). Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography was performed to assess the left ventricle's global three-dimensional strain, regional longitudinal strain, circumferential strain, and radial strain. The left ventricular regional longitudinal strain, radial strain, circumferential strain, and global three-dimensional strain were significantly decreased in the nondialysis patients compared with the other two groups (all, P