Peripheral and intracardiac venous system in chronic heart failure among patients with coronary heart disease

In chronic heart failure (CHI) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), the intracardiac venous system (IVS) changes dramatically; however, there are virtually no studies on IVS in CHF The present study assessed IVS (coronary sinus and large cardiac veins) by Doppler echocardiography and cardiac multispiral computed tomography. The peripheral venous system (PVS) was assessed by peripheral venous pressure (PVP) measurement with the Waldman device. All participants were divided into three groups by CHF stage: Stage IIA, Functional Class (FC) III-IV (n=24); Stage JIB, FC III-IV (n=46); and Stage III, FC IV (n=27). In CHF, PVP was significantly elevated, with venous sinus size and large cardiac vein diameter substantially increased. The observed IVS changes depended on CHF stage. The results of the study demonstrate that in patients with CHF and CHD, the IVS involvement plays an important role in CHF development and progression.