evaluation

Background. Factors affecting cardiac function in dia-lysis patients include arterial blood pressure, anaemia, intravascular volume, and the arteriovenous (a-v) access. Cardiac failure has been directly attributed to dialysis a-v access in several cases. The contribution of the a-v access to cardiac performance has been tested, in the past, by a short manual compression on the fistula, but this technique has obvious limitations. Methods. The present study examined prospectively the effect of dialysis a-v access on both cardiac function and various hormonal responses. Ten patients (age, mean±SD, 59.6 + 12.3) with end-stage renal failure being prepared for chronic dialysis therapy were included. All patients underwent an echocardiographi