Long-Term Effect of Spironolactone on Cardiac Structure as Assessed by Analysis of Ultrasonic Radio-Frequency Signals in Patients With Ventricular Hypertrophy

• Published in: Circulation Journal 2005, Vol.69(11), pp.1394-1400
• Main Authors: Nishikawa, Nagahiro, Yamamoto, Kazuhiro, Sakata, Yasushi, Mano, Toshiaki, Yoshida, Junichi, Umekawa, Seiko, Hori, Masatsugu, Yasuhara, Yuki, Sonoyama, Teruyuki, Harada, Akimitsu, Masuyama, Tohru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aldosterone; Animals; Echocardiography, Doppler - methods; Female; Fibrosis; Fibrosis - diagnostic imaging; Fibrosis - drug therapy; Fibrosis - pathology; Heart Ventricles - diagnostic imaging; Heart Ventricles - pathology; Humans; Hypertrophy; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - diagnostic imaging; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - drug therapy; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists - administration & dosage; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spironolactone - administration & dosage; Ultrasonic tissue characterization
• ISSN: 1346-9843; 1347-4820
• DOI: 10.1253/circj.69.1394

Background An effect of aldosterone on ventricular fibrosis has been demonstrated in animals, but remains unclear in human patients. This study aimed to investigate (1) the relationship between left ventricular (LV) fibrosis and myocardial ultrasonic texture as assessed with myocardial radio-frequency (RF) signals analyzed from the viewpoint of their waveform with chaos theory in animals and (2) serial changes in myocardial ultrasonic texture following long-term aldosterone blockade in patients with LV hypertrophy. Methods and Results In an animal study, Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups with and without adriamycin administration, and the relationship between the RF signals and LV fibrosis was assessed. In a clinical study, effects of 12-month-administration of spironolactone were assessed in patients with LV hypertrophy. The animal study revealed that the correlation dimension (CD) calculated from the RF signals inversely correlated with the area of fibrosis. The clinical study demonstrated an increase in CD following 6-month administration of spironolactone. The changes in CD positively correlated with those in the serum carboxy-terminal telopeptide of collagen type I. Conclusion Myocardial RF signals analyzed with chaos theory reflect the severity of LV fibrosis. Aldosterone blockade may alter myocardial ultrasonic texture with regression of LV fibrosis, at least partly through enhanced collagen degradation. (Circ J 2005; 69: 1394 - 1400)