Prevalence of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Older Renal Transplant Recipients.

OBJECTIVE: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a risk factor for premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease. The aim of the study was to determine echocardiographic evaluation morphology and function of the left ventricle in older renal transplantation patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of renal transplant recipients who underwent routine echocardiography. We compared the data from 38 patients who were older than 65 years with 49 patients who were a mean age of 47.8 ± 12 years (control group). RESULTS: At the time of cardiac evaluation, most patients were in stage 3 chronic kidney disease. In the older group of patients, the incidence of obesity and diabetes were significantly higher than in the control group. Also in the older patients, the serum level of albumin was lower (P < .001), and brain natriuretic peptide was higher (P = .046). The incidence of coronary heart disease, chronic heart failure, and atrial fibrillation were higher in the older patients (P = .011). LVH was common in older as well as younger patients (97.4% vs. 88.8%, P = .17). Left ventricle mass index ranged from 90.4 g/m(2) to 235.5 g/m(2) among examined kidney transplantation patients. In older patients, left ventricular mass index was 160.7 ± 34.5 g/m(2) compared to 141.8 ± 29.8 g/m(2) in younger patients (P = .008). Reduced ejection fraction was found only in 2 of 38 (5.3%) older patients. Diastolic dysfunction of left ventricle was present in 34 of 38 (89.5%) patients >65 years old and in 24 of 49 (49.9%) younger patients (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: LVH and left ventricular dysfunction are more pronounced among older patients. Impaired renal function, proteinuria, diabetes, and severity of hypertension are the most important factors predisposing to LVH.

Genetically determined sparteine oxidation polymorphism in a Polish population.

The genetic oxidation polymorphism was determined in 160 healthy Polish volunteers from the south-west of Poland (Wroclaw region), using sparteine as a model drug. The results of a Polish population study revealed a bimodal distribution of the sparteine metabolic ratio and showed the existence of two oxidation phenotypes designated as extensive and poor metabolizers. The frequency of poor metabolizers in our study (8.8%) compares well with most results of poor oxidation metabolizers in Caucasian populations.