Abstract
We measured the plasma α-human atrial natriuretic peptide (α-hANP) levels in hemodialysis (HD) patients to assess the usefulness of this index for setting the dry weight (DW) in comparison with other indices, such as body weight, mean atrial pressure and cardio-thoracic ratio. We also investigated the clinical implications of plasma α-hANP levels in chronic HD patients with various types of cardiac disease or hypertension. The subjects were 102 chronic HD patients without diabetes mellitus (59 males and 43 females, mean age: 57.2 years, mean duration of HD: 89.7 months).
Results: 1. plasma α-hANP levels were a useful index for setting the DW, and a level not exceeding 70.0pg/ml appeared to be appropriate as the target post-HD α-hANP level. 2. In HD patients complicated by atrial fibrillation (Af) alone, the pre-HD α-hANP level was significantly higher than that in HD patients without any complications or with other types of cardiac disease. In HD patients with mitral regurgitation plus Af, both the pre-HD and post-HD α-hANP levels were significantly higher than that in the patients without any complications. 3. There was no significant difference in the α-hANP level between HD patients with hypertension and those without this complication.
