ObjectivesToevaluatethechangesoftheplasmaendothelinlevelinpatientswithdilatedcardiomyopathy,andtoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweentheplasmaendothelinlevelandtheseverityofheartfailure,heartsize,leftventricularfunctionandwithornotwithpulmonaryarterialhypertension;thechangesoftheplasmaendothelinlevelbeforeandaftertreatment.MethodsTheplasmaendothelinlevelof30patientswithDCM,30healthycontrolsubjects,andtheirLVEF,PAP,heartsize,plasmaendothelinlevelbeforeandaftertreatmentweredetermined.ResultsTheplasmaendothelinlevelinDCMgroupwassignificantlyhigherthanthatincontrolgroup(135.93±70.65pg/mL)vs(43.65±12.07pg/mL),P<0.05;therewasacorrelationbetweenETlevelandheartsize(r=0.4580,P=0.0109);therewasasignificantnegativecorrelationbetweenLVEFofDCMandETlevel(r=-0.6922,P=0.0021);anditwasasignificantpositivecorrelationbetweenETlevelandpulmonaryarterialhypertension(r=0.8974,P<0.0005).Aftertreatment,theETleveldecreasedsignificantlythanbeforeinDCMgroup(129.15±43.93pg/mL)vs(63.12±22.20pg/mL),P<0.05.ConclusionsPlasmaETlevelmaybeanewparameterofevaluatingseverityofheartfailure,efficacyoftherapyandprognosis.
