Comparison of Cardiac Function in Young Patients with Thalassemia Intermedia and Healthy Individuals Using Echocardiography Method

Cardiac dysfunction due to chronic anemia and hemosiderosis are the major causes of death among patients with thalassemia intermedia. This study was performed to compare the cardiac function in thalassemia intermedia patients with normal subjects by means of echocardiography. This was a case-control study performed on 22 patients affected by thalassemia intermedia in the age range of 8 to 25 years treated in pediatric ward of Ali Ibn-e Abi Talib teaching hospital, Zahedan,, South East of Iran, from January 2007 until July 2008. There was no sign of cardiac involvement by physical examination, chest x-ray and ECG in these patients. The control group was selected from normal individuals and was matched by sex and age (66 healthy individuals). Echocardiographic parameters were measured in patient and control groups. Findings of this study showed that the mean age of patients was years and the mean age of the control group was years (p=0.6). The mean left ventricular myocardial performance index (p=0.001), left ventricular mass index (p=0.0001) interventricular septal dimension in diastole (p=0.002), left ventricular posterior wall thickness in diastole (p=0.001), interventricular septal dimension in systole (p=0.01), left ventricular posterior wall dimension in systole (p=0.003), aortic pre-ejection period/ejection time (p=0.009), ejection fraction (p=0.019), fractional shortening (p=0.04), left ventricular isovolumetric contraction time (p=0.0001), left ventricular isovolumetric relaxation time (p=0.0001), right ventricular myocardial performance index (p=0.0001), and isovolumetric relaxation time (p=0.0001) were statistically significantly different between patients and controls. Other echocardiographic parameters did not show a statistically significant difference between patients and controls. The results of the present study show that cardiac systolic and diastolic function in patients with thalassemia intermedia is compromised in comparison with the control group.