Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and left ventricular structure and function, and to evaluate the clinical value of iPTH for the early diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of heart failure. Methods A total of 186 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients treated in Hospital of Shenyang Military Area Command were recruited in this study. They were treated with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) 3 times a week and 4 h a session with the dialysis age of 6 months to 10 years, and were 18-75 years old without acute cardiovascular events. Serum iPTH was determined by radioimmunoasssy, and pro- BNP by electro- chemiluminescence. Echocadiography was used to measure left atrial size (LAD), ventricular diastolic diameter (LVDd), interventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPwT), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular mass (LVM) and LVM index (LVMI) for the assay of left ventricular hypertrophy. According to the 2009 KDIGO guidance and 2～9 times of iPTH upper limits (normal range 11.7～61.1 pg/ml), the patients were stratified into three groups, iPTH ≥549.9 pg/ml group, iPTH ≤122.2 pg/ml group and 122.2～549.9 pg/ml group to investigate the relationship between iPTH and left ventricular structure and function. Result LAD, LVMI, LVDd, VST and LVPwT were significantly higher in the iPTH ≥549.9 pg/ml group than those in the iPTH ≤122.2 pg/ml and 122.2～549.9 pg/ml groups (P＜0.05). Serum iPTH was positively correlated with pro-BNP levels (P＜0.05). Serum iPTH increased along with the increase of NYHA class. iPTH level was positively correlated with LAD, LVMI, LVDd, LVDs, IVST, LVPwT, left ventricular systolic function and pro-BNP (P＜0.05), and was negatively correlated with LVEF (P＜0.05). Conclusion In MHD patients, serum iPTH is closely related to left ventricular function. iPTH may become an important factor for the evaluation of heart function.

Key words: maintenance hemodialysis, parathyroid hormone, NYHA functional class