Diffusion Capacity of the Lung and Maladaptive Post-Infarction Remodeling of the Heart

Abstract

To assess the association of the lowering of diffusion capacity of the lung and maladaptive remodeling of the heart in a year after myocardial infarction (MI). We included into this study 107 patients with ST elevation MI (STEMI). Examination of all patients on 7-12 th days included echocardiography (echoCG), spirography, body plethysmography, and determination of lung diffusion capacity. After one year of observation in 87 patients (81.3%) we performed echocardiogram in dynamics. After 1 year signs of maladaptive remodeling were detected in 25 patients (28.7%). The group of patients with remodeling had clinically significantly lowered parameters of lung diffusion function: diffusion capacity corrected for hemoglobin (DLCOcor) by 30% (p=0.001) and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide/alveolar volume (DL/VA) by 21% (p=0.001). A mathematical model for prediction of maladaptive cardiac remodeling was obtained by the method of multivariate discriminant analysis. Univariate analysis showed that the reduction of DLCOcor was associated with 3.5-fold elevation of the risk of maladaptive remodeling in one year after STEMI. After adjustment for risk factors this risk rose up to 13.7-fold. Reduction of lung diffusion capacity below 80% of the predicted value on the 12-th day of STEMI was associated with 13.7-fold increase of the risk of detection of maladaptive remodeling of the heart after one year. Independent predictors of cardiac maladaptive remodeling were the number of diseased coronary arteries, reduced DLCO and the presence of myocardial remodeling during acute phases of myocardial infarction.