Background: Left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) is related to the long-term prognosis in end-stage renal disease. The aims of this study were to evaluate the time course of the changes in LVFP, the predictors for the changes of LVFP, and the plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels as indicators for the changes of LVFP in chronic hemodialysis (HD).
Methods: This study was designed prospectively. Doppler echocardiographic examinations and measurement of plasma NT-proBNP levels were performed in 37 consecutive patients on chronic HD and repeated at median of 43 months later. A ratio of peak early transmitral flow velocity to peak early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/Em), an estimate of LVFP, was calculated.
Results: E/Em ratios were significantly increased during the follow-up period. In multivariate analysis, age and changes of LVMI were independently associated with the changes of E/Em ratios. The plasma NT-proBNP levels were independently associated with E/Em at baseline and at the end of follow-up. The changes of plasma NT-proBNP levels were independently associated with changes of E/Em ratios (b-coefficient 0.453, p = 0.003).
Conclusions: Our data suggest that the deterioration of LVFP parallels with the progression of LV hypertrophy. Monitoring the plasma NT-proBNP levels might be useful for the detection of the LVFP changes in chronic HD.