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Abstract There is an intimate relation between disorders of the heart and of the kidneys. Some of the principal 1 • • 1 C.L.lnlca_,_ manifestations of impairment of the heart’s performance as a pump result from the renal retention of sodium and water; a number of diseases of the heart such as infective endocarditis and cardiogenic shock may result in serious renal disease. Conversely chronic renal failure frequently results in hypertension and lipid abnormalities, which often lead to accelerated atherosclerosis so that coronary artery disease is a common cause of death in patients being treated for chronic renal insufficiency. Also, uraemia may result in pericarditis and thereby lead to cardiac tamponade or constrictive pericarditis. Renal failure may also cause secondary calcification with a variety of disturbance in cardiac function (Braunwald & Gottlieb, 1984). During the last few years, non-invasive techniques such as echocardiography, systolic time intervals and quantitative radionucleotide angiography, are widely used in the assessment of cardiac performance. The data obtained correlate well Hi th measurements made at cardiac catheterization (Popp, 1977}. |