Relationship between serum uric acid levels and ventricular function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid levels and pulmonary hypertension in patients with idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension (IPAH). METHODS: Serum uric acid levels were measured in 86 patients (mean [+/- SD] age 35.2 +/- 12.3 years; 36 men) with IPAH. Pulmonary arterial pressure and ventricular function were assessed using echocardiography. Serum uric acid levels were also measured in 40 healthy subjects (35.9 +/- 11.6 years of age; 15 men). RESULTS: Serum uric acid levels in IPAH patients were higher compared with control subjects (405 +/- 130 mu mol/L versus 344 +/- 96 mu mol/L; P<0.05). Fifty-two (60.4%) of the 86 patients with IPAH had elevated serum uric acid levels. The pulmonary systolic pressure and mean pulmonary pressure in the high uric acid group were higher than in the normal uric acid group (P<0.05). The left and right ventricular ejection fractions were lower in the high uric acid group compared with the normal uric acid group (P<0.05). Serum uric acid levels were correlated with the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (r=0.387; P<0.01) and New York Heart Association class (r=0.41; P<0.01). There was also an inverse correlation between uric acid levels and the left (r=-0.550; P<0.01) and right ventricular ejection fractions (r=-0.481; P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Serum uric acid levels are associated with IPAH severity and the severity of ventricular dysfunction.