Our results suggest that IL-6 gene G-174C polymorphism is associated with the incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality in chronic dialysis patients.

27ergo spirometery with systolic and diastolic function evaluated from echocardiography. Diastolic function was also evaluated by pulmonary artery catheterisation.Results: There was a strong correlation between %PPVO2 and achieved peak VO2 (r = 0.804, p = <0.0001). Forty-six patients did not reach 50% of predicted peak VO2 and 27 patients had >50% of predicted peak VO2. The deceleration time of the E-wave (DT) (p = 0.0016), and heart rate adjusted DT (DT/*RR) (p = 0.0006) were shorter and LVEF (p = 0.0209) was lower in the group with low oxygen uptake compared to the group with higher oxygen uptake. The univariate analysis of the complete material confirms a significant correlation between %PPVO2 and LVEF (p = 0.0003), DT (p = 0.0074), and DT/*RR (p = 0.0037). A significant contribution to lowering of VO2 was detected in multivariate analysis of systolic (LVEF, p= 0,0021) as well as diastolic (DT/*RR, p= 0.0268) function. Conclnsion:We cannot exclude systolic function at rest, nor the diastolic part of the cardiac cycle at rest as factors influencing exercise tolerance in patients with severe heart failure. On the contrary, some of the diastolic variables were strong predictors exercise capacity, as the DT/*RR, while others were poor, as the E/A-ratio. Thus, our study provides evidence that both systolic (LVEF) and diastolic (DT/*RR) variables are important determinants of exercise tolerance in patients with severe heart failure.of our study was to evaluate the association between the inflammation markers and the occurrence of early LVD in patients with A/VII.Methods: We evaluated prospectively 76 nonthrombolysed patients hospitalized for AMI. The neutrophils percentage, the value of C reactive protein (CRP) and of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were recorded in the first 24 h. The episodes of new LVD or of worsening LVD were echocardiographieally documented in the first 7 days after admission. Results:The results are included in the Conclusions: ( Aim of the study was to ascertain as to whether the evaluation of the coupling between tight ventricular function and pulmonary artery pressure may improve the prognostic assessment in pts with congestive heart failure (CHF).Methods. Between 1992 and 1998, 379 consecutive pts (mean age 51 years) with chronic CHF due to severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 35%) underwent right heart catheterization; all pts received an optimized pharmacological treatment. Etiology was primary dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in 66% and ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 34% of pts; pts with Valvular heart disease or miscellaneous etiology were excluded. Results.In the whole population an inverse relationship was observed between thermodilution-derived right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAPm), with an "r" coefficient of -0.66 (p < 0.001); this relationship was similar in DCM and in IHD pts. During a follow-up period of 17 4-9 months 104 pts died. The population was subdivided into 4 groups according to the presence or absence...

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