Effect of Target Hemoglobin Levels on Left Ventricle Functions in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

In patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) the most important reason of increased mortality is cardiovascular disease. In these patients anemia is frequent and is shown to lead to left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH) and congestive heart failure. In this study, in order to evaluate the cardiac effects of target hemoglobin (Hb) values, we compared left ventricle (LV) functions of two groups of chronic hemodialysis patients, with normal and low Hb levels via echocardiogram. LV mass index (LVMI) and relative wall thickness (RWT) values indicated SVH, which is an independent factor for mortality and in the patient group with low Hb levels, these values were statistically significantly higher when compared with the group with normal Hb levels (p< 0.05 for LVMI and p< 0.05 for RWT). Furthermore, although the ejection fraction (EF) was within the normal limits in the group with low Hb levels, EF was statistically significantly lower when compared with the group with normal Hb levels (p<0.05). In our study, we observed that anemia plays a negative role on LVH and EF and we believe that if this anemia can be prevented, this will lead to a decrease in mortality.