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Document Details :

Title: Frequency of diastolic dysfunction in patients with sickle cell anaemia
Subtitle: A tissue Doppler imaging study
Author(s): KANADAŞI, Mehmet , AKPINAR, Onur , ÇAYLI, Murat , DÖMNEZ, Yurdaer , ACARTÜRK, Esmeray
Journal: Acta Cardiologica
Volume: 60    Issue: 5   Date: October 2005   
Pages: 471-476
DOI: 10.2143/AC.60.5.2004966

Abstract :
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.

Conclusion — 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.