Left ventricular diastolic abnormalities in children with Beta - Thalassemia major: A doopler echocardiographic study

Abstract

Left ventricular filling patterns were assessed by Doppler echocardiography in 63 ß-thalassemia major patients, aged for to 21 years, with no clinical evidence of congestive heart failure and 63 age- and sex-matched normal controls. The patients with ß-thalassemia major were divided into three age groups, namely four to nine years (6.8 ± 1.5 years), 10-15 years (12.1 ± 1.6 years) and older than 15 years (17.3 ± 1.7 years). They were compared with ,age- and sex-matched normal controls in respects of Doopler diastolic indices. The ratio between the early and late (atrial) peaks of flow velocity was higher and peak flow velocity in late diastole was significantly lower in patients with ß-thalassemia major as compared to controls in all three age groups (p < .001). As compared with the controls, peak early diastolic flow velocity was also significantly higher in the thalassemics aged 10 to 15 years (92 ± 16 vs 80 ± 12 cm/s, P < .01) and in those older than 15 years (95±16 vs 79±13 cm/s, p .05). From the data presented here, we therefore conclude that left ventricular diastolic abnormalities develop in patients with ß-thalassemia major in the early phase of the disease and before the apearance of systolic abnormalities, when clinical symptoms of congestive heart failure are absent.